Why Frozen Peas Can Be So Much Better Than Fresh

I don't know about you, but texture is a pretty crucial component of the overall dining experience for me. I wouldn't call myself picky, and there's no texture that I find truly off-putting, but I do want my meals to match my expectations. I prefer crunchy foods to be crunchy, soft foods to be like little joyous pillows, you get it. This goes for peas, too. A good, fresh pea has a subtle sweetness and snappy bite that makes it a delight to pop into your mouth, but that freshness can feel like winning the lottery sometimes. If gambling's not your schtick, why don't you give frozen peas a try instead?

For ages, almond moms and health fad fanatics have claimed that frozen food is bad, that it loses its nutrition, and is flavorless and mushy, but it turns out that frozen fruits and veggies may actually be better for you than fresh ones. While there are certainly some frozen foods you want to avoid, I find that some fruits and veggies hold their texture much better when frozen. This goes for the humble pea, too. They're nutrient-dense and sweet, and they retain that delicious "pop" instead of disintegrating into flavorless, mealy mush like a fresh pea sometimes does. Really, the choice makes itself.

Of course, seeing (or tasting, in this case) is believing. Don't just take my word for it. Go out there and get yourself a bag of frozen peas to test the results yourself. They have many uses, such as in potato-crusted air-fried peas, cooked in this divine pea soup, or elevated in your meat-free recipe arsenal with this Crock-Pot potato-pea curry. You'll notice a few things, with flavor and texture chief among them. Frozen peas are picked at the peak of ripeness, so they have that delightful snap and pop we all know and love. The color is a vibrant green, and the flavor is light and delicate in the way only one in every 100 fresh peas is.

But it's important to cook your frozen peas well so they don't become the same kind of mushy mess that an over-ripe fresh serving can give you. Peas are steamed before getting flash frozen, so they don't need much cooking at all. Really, all you have to do is reheat them or warm them up to the temperature of your dish. You can just add them to your pot, tray, pan, or dish at the last moment to maintain the snap and sweetness, and voila! Peas with that perfect fresh appeal but with even more reliability.