“Putting up” food refers to preserving a harvest using methods like canning, freezing, and drying to capture peak freshness. Preserving peas stabilizes their texture, color, and nutritional content, extending their availability beyond the short harvest window. This allows you to stock your pantry with produce, providing a taste of spring and summer during colder months.
Prepping Peas for Preservation
Proper preparation is mandatory for all preservation methods to ensure quality and safety. Begin by selecting young, tender peas with full, plump pods, and shell them immediately after harvest to prevent sugars from turning to starch. Wash the shelled peas thoroughly to remove debris before the next step.
The most important pre-treatment is blanching, a brief scalding in boiling water followed by rapid cooling. This process deactivates enzymes that cause a loss of color, flavor, and nutrients during storage. For shelled peas, the standard blanching time is one and a half to two minutes in rapidly boiling water.
Immediately plunge the peas into an ice water bath for the same duration to stop the cooking instantly. This quick cooling preserves the vibrant green color and crisp texture. Failure to blanch before freezing or canning results in a faded product with inferior taste and texture after just a few months.
Freezing The Easiest Method
Freezing is the simplest and most effective way to maintain the fresh quality of peas. After the blanched peas are chilled, they must be drained completely to remove excess moisture. Thorough draining prevents large ice crystals from forming, which can damage the pea structure and lead to freezer burn.
Next, use flash freezing to prevent the peas from clumping into a solid block. Spread the peas in a single layer on a baking sheet and place them uncovered in the freezer until solid (about one to two hours). This ensures the peas remain loose and pourable, allowing you to use only the amount needed without thawing the entire container.
Once frozen, transfer the peas quickly into freezer-safe containers, such as heavy-duty bags or rigid plastic boxes. If using bags, press out as much air as possible before sealing to minimize oxidation and preserve quality. Store the peas at a consistent temperature of 0°F or colder, where they will maintain peak flavor and texture for up to twelve months.
Pressure Canning Peas
Canning peas requires a pressure canner because they are a low-acid food. Low-acid foods do not contain enough natural acid to prevent the growth of Clostridium botulinum spores in a boiling water bath. Pressure canning is necessary because it reaches temperatures of 240°F or higher, which destroys these spores.
You can use a raw pack or a hot pack method, but both require a one-inch headspace after filling. For a raw pack, place shelled peas loosely into hot jars and cover them with boiling water. The hot pack involves boiling the peas for two minutes first, then loosely filling the jars with the hot peas and covering them with the cooking liquid.
Peas must be packed loosely, regardless of the pack type, to allow heat to penetrate quickly during processing. After removing air bubbles and wiping the rims clean, seal the jars with two-piece lids and place them into the pressure canner. Processing time for both pint and quart jars is forty minutes.
The canner must be vented for ten minutes once steam escapes to remove trapped air before the pressure regulator is applied. For dial gauge canners at sea level, the pressure must reach eleven pounds per square inch (psi); weighted gauge canners require ten psi, with adjustments for higher altitudes. The pressure must be held constant for the entire forty-minute period, and the canner must depressurize naturally before opening.
Drying and Storing Preserved Peas
Drying removes moisture content from the peas, which inhibits microbial growth and enzyme activity for long-term shelf stability. While some suggest drying raw peas, pre-treating them by steaming or blanching for three to four minutes helps them dry faster and retain color. Spread the blanched peas in a single layer on dehydrator trays.
Dry the peas at approximately 140°F until they become hard, shriveled, and brittle. They must be completely cool before being moved to an airtight container for storage. A simple test for dryness is striking two peas together; they should make a distinct clicking sound rather than feeling soft or yielding.
Proper storage conditions maximize the shelf life and safety of all preserved peas. Canned jars should be stored in a cool, dark, and dry location, maintaining quality for up to a year. Dried peas also require a cool, dark, and dry environment and should be checked periodically for moisture, keeping their best quality for six to twelve months. Frozen peas, kept at a steady 0°F, should be used within a year.