Are Black Eyed Peas a legume?
Black-eyed peas, also known as cowpeas, are a common legume cultivated around the globe. Despite their name, black-eyed peas are not peas but rather a type of bean. They’re generally very pale in color and feature a large black, brown, or red spot that resembles an eye.
What to cook with Black Eyed Peas?
serve with canned allens seasoned collard greens and corn muffins. Black-eyed peas, chickpeas, or anything else in the bean family can replace meat in a meal. So, serve with veggies, and potatoes or rice. Curry sauces and tomato sauces would go well with them.
What are some recipes for Black Eyed Peas?
They feature black-eyed peas cooked in the following main ways:
- Traditional. Slow simmer them Southern style in a large pot with your smoked meat of choice. (See below.)
- Instant Pot. Black-eyed peas are beans, and Instant pots were made to cook beans! ...
- Fried. I know fried and black-eyed peas don’t naturally come to mind, but think falafel which is essentially ground beans fried in oil.
What nutrients are in Black Eyed Peas?
Black-eyed peas are a type of legume that contain many nutrients, including vitamin A, folate, and manganese. They also contain high amounts of fiber, which can aid digestion and feed beneficial ...
History
The black eye pea is cultivated throughout the world. It originates from West Africa.
Cultivation
This heat-loving crop should be sown after all danger of frost has passed and the soil is warm. Seeds sown too early will rot before germination. Black-eyed peas are extremely drought tolerant, so excessive watering should be avoided.
Lucky New Year food
In the Southern United States, eating black-eyed peas or Hoppin' John (a traditional soul food) on New Year's Day is thought to bring prosperity in the new year.
Culinary uses worldwide
In Egypt, black-eyed peas are called lobia. Cooked with onions, garlic, meat, and tomato juice, and served with Egyptian rice with some pastina called shaerya mixed in, it makes the most famous rice dish in Egypt.
Nutritional Benefits
This vegetable is a decent source of complex starches, fiber, and numerous fundamental nutrients and minerals. One cup or 165 grams (g) of cooked black-eyed peas contains:
Support weight loss
Due to their content of protein and soluble fiber, adding black-eyed peas to your diet is a great way to boost weight loss.
Promote digestive health
Black-eyed peas are a great source of soluble fiber, which is a key nutrient when it comes to digestive health.
Enhance heart health
Enjoying black-eyed peas as part of a balanced diet is an excellent way to help keep your heart healthy and strong, as they may help reduce several risk factors for heart disease.
Taxonomy
Alright, so let’s clear up the initial confusion. Beans and peas do technically belong to the same general seed family called Fabaceae. Lentils are also included in this bunch, by the way.
Nutrition
Legumes (peas and beans included!) are an excellent source of vital nutrients including macronutrients such as protein and micronutrients like fiber, iron, fatty acids, and folate.
Legumes, Pulses, Green Beans, and More
Hold on, what are black-eyed peas? Pea is in the name. But are they true peas?
Want to Know More?
Want to find out more about how to grow peas or beans? Check out our pea growing guide and our bean growing guide for more information on how to cultivate each crop.
When to Pick Black Eyed Peas
Originating in subtropical Asia, black eyed peas are actually legumes rather than peas. They are a common celebratory feature of many New Year’s day meals in the southern United States.
How to Harvest Black Eyed Peas
Both bush and pole varieties are available, but either type will be ready to harvest in about 60-70 days for snap beans. If you are harvesting black eyed peas for dried beans, wait until they have been growing for 80-100 days. There are a number of methods to harvest black eyed peas for dried beans.
1. Southern Pink Lady peas
When we talk about black-eyed peas and we are in need of replacement, then the Southern lady leas are the way to do it.
2. Pinto beans
Secondly on our list of beans are the Pinto beans which are a good replacement for black-eyed beans. Actually, if you don’t have any black-eyed peas for your next recipe then Pinto beans are your next best thing.
3. Fresh lima beans
Fresh lima beans are considered to be another close substitute to black-eyed peas.
4. Fresh Romano beans
The fresh Romano beans make a great replacement for black-eyed peas. If you use this Italian substitute be mindful not to overcook it because the beans will become mushy and they might dissolve.
5. Kentucky wonder beans
A popular and commonly used are the Kentucky green beans which are old-fashioned and used in many recipes.
6. Purple Hull Peas
If you don’t have black-eyed peas and you want something to come close to the texture of them, then purple hull peas are the thing you are searching for.
7. Crowder peas
Black-eyed peas can be replaced by crowder Peas in almost every recipe. They are green with a white center and an appearance that will add colors to your dish.
Overview
The black-eyed pea or black-eyed bean is a legume grown around the world for its medium-sized, edible bean. It is a subspecies of the cowpea, an Old World plant domesticated in Africa, and is sometimes simply called a cowpea.
The common commercial variety is called the California Blackeye; it is pale-colored with a prominent black spot. The American South has countless varieties, many of them heirloom, tha…
History
The Black eyed pea originates from West Africa and has been cultivated in China and India since prehistoric times. It was grown in Virginia since the 17th century by African slaves who were brought to America along with the indigenous plants from their homelands. The crop would also eventually prove popular in Texas. The planting of crops of black-eyed peas was promoted by George Washington Carver because, as a legume, it adds nitrogen to the soil and has high nutritional value. Throughout the South, the black-eyed pea is still a widely used ingredient toda…
Cultivation
This heat-loving crop should be sown after all danger of frost has passed and the soil is warm. Seeds sown too early will rot before germination. Black-eyed peas are extremely drought tolerant, so excessive watering should be avoided.
The crop is relatively free of pests and disease. Root-knot nematodes can be a problem, especially if crops are not rotated. As a nitrogen-fixing legume, fertilization can exclude nitrogen three weeks after germination.
Lucky New Year food
In the Southern United States, eating black-eyed peas or Hoppin' John (a traditional soul food) on New Year's Day is thought to bring prosperity in the new year. The peas are typically cooked with a pork product for flavoring (such as bacon, fatback, ham bones, or hog jowls) and diced onion, and served with a hot chili sauce or a pepper-flavored vinegar. The traditional meal also includes cabbage, collard, turnip, or mustard greens, and ham. The peas, since they swell when cooked, s…
Culinary uses worldwide
Black-eyed peas contain calcium (41 mg), folate (356 μg), protein (13.22 g), fiber (11.1 g) and vitamin A (26 IU), among other nutrients, with less than 840 kilojoules (200 kilocalories) of food energy in a 171-gram (6 oz) serving.
In Egypt, black-eyed peas called lobia, when cooked with onions, garlic, meat, and tomato juice and served with Egyptian rice with some pastina called shaerya mixed in, make the most famou…
Nutritional benefits
This vegetable is a decent source of complex starches, fiber, and numerous fundamental nutrients and minerals. One cup or 165 grams (g) of cooked black-eyed peas contains:
• 160 calories
• 0.6 g fat
• 33.5 g carbs
See also
• Sea Island red pea
• Dixie Lee pea
• Adzuki bean
• Broad bean
• Chickpea
External links
• Media related to Vigna unguiculata subsp. unguiculata at Wikimedia Commons
• "Vigna unguiculata subsp unguiculata". Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN). Agricultural Research Service (ARS), United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).
• Plantnames.unimelb.edu.au Porcher Michel H. et al. 1995–2020, Sorting Vigna Names. Multilingual Multiscript Plant Name Database (M.M.P.N.D) – A Work in Progress. School of Agriculture and Food Systems. Faculty of Land & Food Resources. The University of Melbourne. Australia. (2005).