Cowpea Season
‘Tis the season … when the humble cowpea has its moment of fame! For those with African-American or Southern roots, Hoppin’ John is the traditional meal on New Year's Day. There are many variations on the Hoppin’ John recipe, but one ingredient is absolutely necessary: black-eyed peas.
A Little History...
Black-eyed peas are a particular variation of a larger class of beans (ahem, not peas) known as cowpeas (Vigna unguiculata) that originated in Africa. They were domesticated around 5,000-6,000 years ago, and are still important for food and fodder across that continent. They came to the Americas with the slave trade, and eventually moved across this continent, following the path of African slaves. They were often planted along the edges of fields to enrich the soil due to their high nitrogen fixing ability, and cattle would graze on the leaves and vines (hence the name cowpea.) Many settlers of European decent were unfamiliar with the crop and regarded it merely as cattle fodder, not fit for human consumption. But it was this misunderstanding of its culinary significance that might just have saved this food resource. During the Civil War, Union soldiers didn’t bother to torch the cowpeas when they burned Confederate fields as they marched through the south. This oversight may have saved both black and white families from starvation during this period, and it might be one reason for the association of cowpeas with good luck in the south.
A Little Hopeful Thinkin’...
Traditional preparation of the dish is simple - one pound of bacon, one pint of peas, and one pint of rice - and is served alongside collard greens on New Year's Day in the South. Additionally the wonderful savory, smoky, rich and sometimes spicy flavors are perfect for the dark, cold time of the year. As with any widespread tradition there are many versions of the recipe and the folklore, but some of the most common are: black eyed peas for luck, ham hock for health, and greens for riches.
A Little Cookin’...
Since we’re talking old time traditions, here’s an old time recipe for Hoppin’ John. This one is by Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, Florida novelist and cook extraordinaire, from her 1942 book Cross Creek Cookery.
1 cup cow-peas¼ lb white bacon½ cup rice3 cups waterSalt to taste
Serves 4
Boil together cowpeas and bacon cut in slices in three cups water, adding one-half teaspoon salt. When tender, add the separately cooked fluffy rice. Cook a few minutes more. Serve with cornbread. A small onion is sometimes diced and cooked with the peas.
Note that this early recipe doesn't specify black-eyed peas, but cowpeas, or what were sometimes referred to in the South as "red peas", like our local Bisbee Red. What the author calls "white bacon" would be what we call salt-pork; many recipes call for ham-hock. If you use dried cowpeas and soak them overnight, they would probably cook in a half hour. There are many Hoppin’ John recipes available on the web, and they are worth browsing for ideas on how to bend this basic recipe in the direction you'd like...whether toward more spicy, rich, or vegetarian, etc.
...And a Little More Cowpea Enlightenment
While cowpeas are often eaten as dried peas, they can also be eaten fresh when pods are immature like their cousins yardlong beans. Common in Asian cuisine, yardlong beans are a subspecies of Vigna unguiculata. Young shoots and leaves of cowpeas are also a good source of protein.
Julite Machinery 5XFZ-25SC air screen cleaner with gravity table wll beans cleaning machine equipment
The vertical air screen can remove light impurities such as dust , leaves , some sticks. The half front screen can remove small impurity .Then the then gravity table can remove some light impurities such as sticks , shells , insect bitten seeds . At last , the back half screen remove bigger and smaller impurities again . And This machine can separate the stone with different size of the grain/seed, but can not remove the same size ones with grain or seed.
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