Supercharge Your Mushy Peas: The Freezing Secret!

Fancy an uncomplicated trick to upgrade your pea game? Ever been caught off guard and wished for a quick stash of ready-to-cook peas? Dream of consistently creamy mushy peas every time you make them?

Enter the humble freezer. Not just a storage solution but a powerful tool for enhancing the texture and taste of your beloved marrowfat peas. Like the magic of using frozen fruits to make jam - yielding a richer flavour and brighter hue - it's all down to the science of water expansion. Let's explore how this process can revolutionise your marrowfat pea preparation.

Two fundamental steps at the heart of exceptional mushy peas are washing and soaking your marrowfat peas. Nail these, and you're on track for perfection. But what if there was another secret to elevate your peas even further? We propose the third pillar: freezing.

The Science Behind the Freeze

Water, as we know, contracts when cooled, up until it reaches 4°C. Dip below this temperature and a fascinating shift occurs. Instead of further contraction, it expands. This expansion is due to the water molecules arranging themselves in a hexagonal lattice structure - an open formation with ample space between molecules. When the temperature hits 0°C, this expanded water turns into ice.

This unique property of water, the anomalous expansion, is why your water bottle might burst if you mistakenly pop it in the freezer. It's also why ice cubes float in a glass of water; they're less dense due to this molecular alignment.

How to Perfect Your Peas

Preparation - Begin with 12.5kg of dried marrowfat peas. After washing and soaking, you'll have 31.25kg of soaked peas.

Divide & Conquer - Portion them into bags, considering the size of your cooking pan.

The Math - 1kg of dried marrowfat peas yields 2.5kg of soaked peas after a 36-hour soak. This means the peas will hold 2.5 times more water - a crucial component for our freezing technique.

The Big Freeze - Once soaked, pop your peas into the freezer. The water content within the peas will expand by around 9%, stressing and breaking the pea cells. This ensures a flawless texture later.

Cooking Time - When the need for peas calls, just retrieve them from the freezer, add water, and some Mushy Pea Seasoning, and cook to perfection.

In our experience, once you embrace the freeze, there's no looking back. We challenge you to test this method. Could it indeed be the third pillar of outstanding mushy pea creation? We eagerly await your verdict.