Can you eat pea shoots raw

Pea Sprouts are a sprout or microgreen composed of the whole young plant including stalk and leaves grown from newly sprouted peas. No, but they can be used in similar ways. Pea tips are the tender young leaves and stems growing at the ends of the branches of more mature pea plants. Pea shoots are sprouts or microgreens i. It depends on how 'pea shoot' is being use.

The term is a bit of a confusing, and seems to be applied a little haphazardly to both foods discussed here. Fortunately it's easy to tell which one you're really dealing with based on appearance.

If you're looking at a young, tender green plant with a straight stem and two small leaves, it's a pea sprout. If it's a small leafy bundle on a relatively thick stem that's been clipped off a larger plant, it's a pea tip. Both get called pea shoots, though I think the term is used a little more often to describe pea sprouts.

Yes - any flowers that might show up in your pea tips are edible. They make a nice addition to salads, etc. If you're harvesting your own pea tips and flowers, it's very important to note that the leaves, pods, and flowers of the true pea Pisum sativum , and NOT the sweet pea Lathyrus odoratus.

Sweet peas are NOT edible! Asian grocery stores are your best bet for both, though pea sprouts are often found at well-stocked grocery stores and health stores. This is one of those vegetables where more is not always best; larger tips and stems are very fibrous and do not cook up as well. Avoid overly wilted or droopy leaves and soggy looking stems. Pea Shoots: simply ensure that they look fresh and vibrant, without signs of wilting or yellowing.

You may want to remove any particularly thick or tough stems or long tendrils from pea tips, but sprouts should require little or no picking over. Pea tips and pea shoots can be eaten raw or cooked. Pea tips are more commonly cooked, while the sprouts are more commonly eaten raw. Find Seasonality - Pea tips are generally picked from pea plants around the same time that the pods are starting to develop, and as such can be found in around the same season.

Seasonality varies by climate of course, but this is usually in January-March in the Northern Hemisphere. Pea sprouts, like many microgreens, are increasingly grown in indoor hydroponic operations, and as such are generally available year-round. They rank low in fat, calories, and carbohydrates, so you can eat 'em up like there's no tomorrow.

If you're not growing your own pea shoots, look for them at farmers' markets in springtime. If you have access to an Asian market, look for them there, too.

They're very fragile and don't last long, so plan to eat them within a day or two of buying them. In fact, they're very easy to grow in a garden or container. Plant seeds in the ground mid to late winter, or plant seedlings from late winter to early spring. Because they are a climbing vine, you'll want to provide something for them to attach to and climb upon. Store them in the vegetable drawer of your fridge just as you would with tender baby greens. You can even grow pea shoots indoors in the winter.

Once your pea plants are about inches tall, you can snip off the top growth including one set of leaves. This will be your first, small harvest. Cutting off the growing tip will encourage the plants to branch out and continue growing, making more shoots and tendrils. After that, you can continue harvesting the top 2- to 6-inches of the pea plants every three to four weeks. You can harvest shoots, leaves, and tendrils, as well as any flowers or buds that may have formed.

Eventually, you will notice the shoots are not as tender as they were earlier in the season and the flavor will start to turn bitter. This means it's time to stop harvesting. If the weather stays cool, you may get pea pods forming on these plants.

However, chances are good the pea season will be over before that happens. Some gardeners contend that leaving the plants to grow and trimming them back to about 4 inches in late July will result in a new harvest of pea shoots and tendrils in the fall, but you cannot rely on that happening.

It is more likely that the plants will succumb to the dry heat or insects before then. If you want a fall harvest, you will need to reseed at the end of the summer and hope for a long, cool fall.

Any type of pea will suffice, but sugar pod peas are the easiest types to grow for shoots and tendrils since they tend to shoot up faster and stay light and crisp. Oregon Sugar Pod seed is readily available and great for shoots and tendrils. Pea shoots became popular among restaurant chefs in the U. Pea tendrils are a staple of Chinese cuisine, often used in soups and stir-fries.

Since they gained popularity, pea tendrils are a fairly common, yet expensive vegetable, offered off and on throughout the year. Handling : Wash and spin dry harvested pea shoots as you would lettuce. If you see some larger stems, make sure to remove them. The tough stalks are not fun to eat.