SC - Newcomer

[Elaine Koogler]

Blackeyed peas are Vigna unguiculata and are of Old World origin (probably
India with variants in China and Africa).  Catjangs, cowpeas, and yard-long
beans are all variants.  The Italians lump them together with the New World
Phaseolus, but they apparently were known and eaten (as food of the poor) in
Classical Antiquity (see Pliny). 

If you look at the language, peas, lentils, favas and grabanzos are
liguistically separate from phaseolus.  The confusion comes because the
Vigna and the New World beans were lumped together as fagiola (or fasioli)
and then the term Phaseolus was taken taxonomically for the New World beans.
Because the Vigna are tied linguistically to the modern variant of
phaseolus, they are probably the phaseolus of the Romans.    

I refer you to Annibale Carracci's The Bean Eater for visual evidence of
black-eyed peas being eaten in period.

While Platina gives some recipes specifically for phaseolus (and remembering
he predates Columbus and most taxonomic efforts), it is very likely that
black-eyed peas would not be found much outside of peasant dining.

Bear 

> beware...not all called "pea" is really a pea...."blackeyed peas", for
> example are really beans and so new world (and not 
> appropriate for medieval
> re-enactors).
> 
> You want stuff out of the pea/lentil/fava/garbanzo family, 
> nitrogen fixers,
> vetch leaves, etc
> not the fasiolis ie bean/string bean/lima bean/scarlet runner 
> bean/etc family.
> 
> not sure about the other varieties...you could tell by the 
> latin name, I bet!
> 
> --AM