You guessed it; these snap peas are as sweet as sugar.
Availability & Origin
Sugar snap peas are grown year-round, but you'll get the best flavor in spring. In the U.S., they grow in California, Washington, Montana, and North Dakota. Globally, you'll find them growing in Peru, Colombia, and Guatemala.
Appearance & Flavor
The snap pea is aptly named; if it snaps when you break it in half, you know it's fresh. Avoid the ones that are limp or faded from their normal bright green color. Sugar snap peas are sweet, juicy, and tender with glossy pods, and you can eat the entire pea. However, if it still has a string, remove it-though many come string-less nowadays.
Storage
When placed in the fridge's crisper in a perforated bag, raw sugar snap peas will last up to five days. After cooking, let the leftovers cool before storing them in an air tight container in the fridge, and they will last three days at the most.
Ways to Enjoy
Raw is a simple favorite way to eat sugar snap peas. If you cook them, dry heat for a short time will do the trick. Other options include roasting them, adding them to soups, mixing them into salads, and, for a backyard barbecue, grilling them like this.
History
The sugar snap pea is a hybrid of the English pea and snow pea that was created around the 17th century. It wasn't until the late 1970's that it become commercially popular.