Hej everyone!

I have gotten my hands on grey peas and look forward to experiment with their uses. Primarily due to the pea’s long and interesting history in Denmark.

Grey peas have been grown in Denmark since bronze age, and played a crucial role throughout centuries. Through most of Denmark’s history, (grey) peas have been a staple food for most of the population. In winters the dried peas often were a lifesaver, as they could just be soaked in water and used for porridge and soup. This was crucial when fresh vegetables were scarce. They also were ground into flour and used in bread and other baked good. Another lifesaving property, especially when grains like rye or wheat were low in quantity.

First around the middle of the 1800s, peas came under pressure from potatoes and an increased focus on animal agriculture. As habits and agriculture changed, gray (and most other) peas slowly disappeared from the Danish fields and dinner tables. On an interesting side note, the traditional dish brændende kærlighed (consisting of mashed potatoes, bacon, fried onion and pickled beetroot) was originally made from pea mash.

Grey peas can be used for many things, including soups, porridge and a kind of spread similar to hummus. Thus far, I have used them in vegetable soup, and their flavour gives a nice, somewhat nutty taste to my soup.

Looking forward to share more recipes and ideas!