[Sca-cooks] pease porridge?

[Terry Decker]

Field peas were probably what they were using for recipes from the Forme of 
Cury.  Split peas are field peas.

Petit pois are a small seed variety of garden peas.  The basic species is 
the same as those being grown in France in the 1400's, but as you pointed 
out in an earlier message, there has been a lot of hybridization, so the 
variety is probably more modern.  If I were a gardener and in a fanatic mood 
about historical accuracy, I might chase down the heritage varietals, but 
since I'm not I'll use the frozen ones.

The black-eyed peas known to your ancestor may have come over with the 
slaves from Africa, but they have been eaten around the Mediterranean since 
Antiquity.  It may be that they were not commonly available in Northern 
Europe.

Bear

> Bear,
> As usual, I bow to your sholarship.  Would it be safe to use field peas in 
> a recipe from Forme of Cury?  What about frozen petit pois?  Are these the 
> same petit pois grown in the 1400's in France?  After all, Petit Pois is 
> simply French for Little Pea.
> I've always believed (wrongly, I guess) that field peas were simply a 
> blander variety of black eyed peas.
> My family goes a long way back in the Southeastern US, the original 
> Immigrant was one Isaac du Bosc, sometime in the 1600's.  They were rich 
> French Hugenots, related to the famous Hugenot Preacher Pierre du Bosc. 
> At one point they owned whopping portions of the SC lowlands and many 
> slaves.  Common family knowledge was that the blackeyed peas came over 
> with the slaves from Africa.
>
>
> Pat Griffin
> Lady Anne du Bosc