Possibly a cream pea.They are cream colored pea without a pronouced eye. Pinkeyes have definite eyes. Ther are many varieties. This is Zipper, which I consider the best of the type.

I remember granny's shelling circle. All those wonderful black-eyed peas and butter beans....both fresh and dry. We always did it on the back porch in the hot afternoon when you didn't want to go out. The boys (grandpa and others) dozed under the ceiling fans until it was safe to venture out without getting heatstroke. Chickens rolled in the dirt dusting themselves, the cats and dogs were under the porch, and the cattle chewed their cud under the big live oaks. Summer in gulf coast Texas is hot and not to be fooled with during the middle of the day. Even the windmill stopped work as though to admit defeat to the sun. An occasional cackle of a hen, or the buzz of a fly could be heard over the drone of the rocking chairs on linoleum because we all know that rocking and shelling go together.

Thanks for the memories....sorry I got carried away.

shebear,

Beautifully put! You must be a writer. -kc

Yes, that was beautifully put. Still hunting my childhood memory of the perfect summer pea dish. I found this picture that really is almost exact to my memory, it is of a Red Ripper. Except that I don't remember it being a minimal producer. Though I didn't really have anything to compare it to. I do remember the pods being all different sizes, and it was the little pods that made the snaps. I don't recall seeing them dry so don't know what dry color they were.

* can't link to the picture, oops ....

Would Red Ripper have been common in S. Georgia/N. Florida and been pick-able Late July Early August?

TIA,

~dianne

Red Ripper is a long season, late maturing field pea that dates back to the civil war. A long day vining pea that the oldtimers often use for stock feed. Small red pea, pods also are reddish at green shell stage. Never grew them, but have talked to a few oldtimers who did. None of them have much good to say about it for an eating pea.

I've grown Red Ripper the last two years and really like the taste of'em. I gave some seed to a friend last year and he's planning on planting more this year. He liked'em. If you like a field pea that makes a dark soup give'em a try.

I've always loved all kinds of field peas, and now our favorites in the garden are zipper peas. They produce like crazy, with big fat peas inside long pods. When the peas are full, they crowd together and get an irregular shape just like crowder peas. This is our second year to grow them, and I want twice a many next year!

I googled "field peas with snaps" and landed on this thread. I had always wondered why there were sometimes snaps in with the peas, and now I think I know the answer. At the end of the season (early fall) the peas stop maturing in the pods, so the last picking has a lot of snaps to throw in.

Here is a link that might be useful: Zipper Peas