You can eat sugar snap peas raw or boil them: In both variants, the young pea pods are healthy and taste good. You can find out the advantages and disadvantages of raw sugar snap peas here.
Sugar snap peas are also known as snow peas or snow peas. These are pods with flat, thin pods that contain the not yet fully developed pea seeds. Unlike other legumes, sugar snap peas are also edible raw: you can eat both the pod itself and the young peas inside.
Sugar snap peas do not contain phasin. Therefore you can eat them raw. Phasin is a natural toxin that causes red blood cells to clump together and damages intestinal cells. In addition, there is no parchment layer inside the sugar snap pea that would make the pod inedible.
To be able to eat sugar snap peas raw, it is therefore sufficient to cut off the ends of the pod and remove the threads on its sides.
With their fresh, sweet taste, raw sugar snap peas are great in salads or as a topping for soups. You can also serve them as an accompaniment to Asian rice dishes.
Eating sugar snap peas raw: pros and cons
Sugar snap peas are a healthy addition to your diet. On the one hand, they contain a lot of protein, which makes them particularly suitable for a plant-based diet. On the other hand, they are rich in carbohydrates and fiber, which fill you up comfortably and quickly and ensure good digestion. Sugar snap peas also have potassium, phosphorus and many vitamins.
However, some of these healthy ingredients are very sensitive to heat. This means that they are partially lost when cooking, roasting or baking. Vitamin B1, vitamin B5 and vitamin C, for example, are particularly sensitive to heat. Sugar snap peas contain only small amounts of vitamin B1, but plenty of vitamin C. Eating sugar snap peas raw is advantageous if you do not want to reduce the vitamin C content by cooking.
On the other hand, raw peas are less well tolerated than cooked ones due to their indigestible fiber. They can therefore cause problems for people with sensitive stomachs. It is therefore advisable for them to only eat small amounts of sugar snap peas raw and otherwise to cook the vegetables gently, for example with steam. Since the sugar snap pods are still very thin, the cooking time is only a few minutes. You can prepare sugar snap peas in a wok or pan.
Eat sugar snap peas raw: Organic is better
Most snow peas available in Germany come from Kenya, South Africa or Guatemala and often from conventional agriculture. Not only do they cover long transport routes to Europe, but they are often heavily contaminated with pesticides and are also chemically treated to keep them fresh during transport. Especially if you want to eat sugar snap peas raw, you should therefore use untreated vegetables from organic farming. Finally, the pods are not peeled before consumption.
