Season: Snow peas are cooler climate vegetables and are often planted in early spring. Snow peas can be found most easily throughout the spring, summer and even into fall in California.
Flavor: Snap peas are also known as sugar snap peas and are a cross between snow peas and garden peas. The whole pod is eaten and has a crunchy texture and very sweet flavor.
Storage: Sugar snaps should be plump and crisp (they should “snap” when you break one in half); floppy sugar snaps are a no-go. Store peas in cold refrigeration in a bag in the crisper drawer with other vegetables. Snow peas should be kept at 32-36 degrees Fahrenheit, and usually last for 1 week.
How to use: Snow peas can be eaten raw or enjoyed cooked atop rice, salads, or just as a side. Natural partners with garden peas and sugar snaps include mint, butter, cream, bacon and prosciutto, lettuce, onions (especially spring onions) and mushrooms. Snow peas and sugar snaps are at home in stir-fries, pairing beautifully with garlic, sesame oil and soy sauce; sugar snaps are also pretty excellent raw.
Nutrition: Every variety of pea is really good for you. They sort of combine the nutritional benefits of veggies with the good stuff in legumes. Garden peas are higher in calories than most other veggies and are rich in fiber and protein. They also have huge amounts of Vitamins C, A, K and folate, and are high in manganese, iron, zinc and magnesium. They even contain a little bit of calcium. Snow peas and sugar snaps have a crazy amount of Vitamin C — just one cup provides you with 128 percent of your daily Vitamin C needs. They’re also super high in Vitamins A and K and are good sources of iron and Vitamin B6.