Mrs. Roundell's Practical cookery book

G-reen Peas should be served as plainly as possible to suit English tastes. No Peas are so good as those grown in England, and it is a great mistake to use the various additions which are in favour abroad. Young Peas should be shelled as soon as gathered, and must on no account be washed. They should be put into fast boiling water, but the water must only just cover them. A dessert- PEAS spoonful of salt and the same quantity of sugar should be added to every quart of water, for both salt and sugar prevent the escape of the juices of the Peas. One pint of Peas will require a quart of water. If liked, add half an ounce of fresh mint, but early Peas are best without any addition. On no account use any soda ; it ruins young Peas. Let the Peas boil fast, with the cover off the pan, for ten to twelve minutes. Take the Peas out, drain them in a colander, and serve at once in a hot dish. Do not boil Peas in a tinned saucepan. Some people add an ounce of butter, a dusting of pepper and salt, and a little sugar, to the Peas, blending and working all well together in a saute-pan before turning out the Peas into their hot dish ready for serving. A spring onion, as small as possible, may be boiled with the Peas, and removed before serving. It is the custom in Holland to boil the pods of Peas, and to serve them as a vegetable. This method does not at present commend itself to English palates, but as Peas cease to be quite young it is an excellent plan to boil the pods (after the Peas have been shelled and carefully covered up), in the water in which the Peas themselves will be boiled later on. The pods should be trimmed like French beans, soaked for twenty minutes, then put into boiling water with two ounces of mint, a dessertspoonful of salt, and three lumps of sugar. Boil fast for half an hour. Then strain, boil the water again when the particles of pod have been quite removed, and add the fresh Peas as soon as the water boils. Boil for half an hour. If Peas have to be shelled some time before they are wanted, pnt them in a dry basin and cover them with a damp cloth. Peas in the Jar. — This is, in the opinion of many people, the best way of cooking Peas. The full flavour is extracted, and, whilst young Peas are not overdone, old Peas become perfectly tender when cooked in this manner. Put one pint of shelled green Peas into a 2-lb. jam jar with a screw top. Put in with the Peas a tablespoonful of butter, a saltspoonful of salt, twelve mint leaves, a teaspoonful of sugar, and a very little black pepper. Be careful that the jar is absolutely closed. Put the jar in the bain-marie, or in a stewpan half full of boiling water. Set the pan containing the jar A A 2 PEAS on the fire, and boil briskly. If the Peas are young they will be done in about half an hour, older Peas in forty minutes, or longer.