Sugar snap peas vs. green peas: A tasty guide to a summer delight

Juicy, crispy, and sweet sugar snap peas will soon appear in stores and on stands. They're a great addition to many dishes, but they taste best eaten raw, along with the pod. However, be careful! This vegetable is sometimes confused with another.

The much-awaited sweet-sugar snap peas should become available at the turn of June and July. It is worth paying attention to them not only because of their taste and beautiful colour but also because of their health benefits. Sugar snap peas are indistinguishable from green peas for many people, and that's a big mistake.

Although they might look similar, sugar snap peas and green peas differ. Green peas are young grains of leguminous field peas, whereas sugar snap peas are a young variety of sweet peas.

Peas are young, green grains; peas are mature, dried grains. Thus, we can eat peas raw. We only eat the seeds with green peas, whereas sugar snap peas can be eaten with the entire pod (since they don't have a parchment lining inside the pod). Green peas are somewhat bland in taste, while the sugar variety, as the name suggests, has a sweet, pleasant taste (but fewer calories than green).

Sugar snap peas can be added to salads, sandwiches, lunches, and soups. They are also suitable for cooking or frying. For many, the taste of summer is sautéed pods in butter with breadcrumbs.

Sugar snap peas contain potassium, which benefits heart function and regulates blood pressure. They are also a rich source of vitamin C and B vitamins, such as B1, B2, B3, B5, B6, and B9. These are responsible for the proper functioning of the nervous system. Sugar snap peas also contain vitamins A and E, essential for maintaining healthy skin and hair, making them a source of our beauty.

Moreover, sugar snap peas are rich in lutein, which benefits our vision. They also contain a lot of protein and complex carbohydrates, which help maintain blood sugar levels at the right level for a long time.

In addition, sugar snap peas are a source of many valuable minerals, such as magnesium, iron, phosphorus, calcium, and zinc, essential for our body's proper functioning. They are also rich in fibre, which supports the digestive system and circulation and helps lower the level of bad cholesterol (LDL).