The current gourmets are lucky: the choice of products, and hence the dishes that can be cooked, is huge. However, do not lose their relevance and the usual home-made from harvested vegetables.
This also applies to legumes, which, if properly processed, can be an appetizing addition to many recipes. One of these ingredients is already dry and prepared green peas, which deserve a separate description.
The benefits and harm of dried peas
Many people know that these ordinary-looking balls are rich in protein. But this is not their only advantage. The composition also includes phosphorus and calcium, iron and magnesium, as well as many other minerals and substances (including a whole range of B vitamins).
Vegetable protein, which is found in legumes, namely: beans (string and asparagus, inclusive), beans, peanuts, mouse peas, and so on. - better absorbed by the body in combination with cereals: rice, millet, corn, barley, wheat.Due to such a rich content, these fruits in a dry form display many useful qualities:
- reduce blood pressure;
- stimulate the metabolism, especially fat - with regular use, they are not deposited in the body;
- "knocking down" cholesterol, prevent atherosclerosis;
- remove carcinogens (thereby suspending the growth of tumors or preventing new formations from appearing);
- acting as a mild diuretic, help with kidney disease;
- thanks to carotene improve vision;
- relieve headaches and toothaches;
- at the expense of vitamins saturate the nutritional balance of the skin, which has a good effect on its elasticity;
- strengthen hair and nails.
Important! In peptic ulcer such products can be eaten only as a puree.The list is impressive, and it may give the impression that dried peas are completely useful, although you should not get involved in them, remembering about the possible harm. He also has strict contraindications, which include:
- kidney inflammation;
- inflammatory diseases of the gastrointestinal tract at any stage;
- gout;
- cholecystitis and thrombophlebitis.
Inventory and kitchen appliances
We need the very minimum:
- an ordinary oven (electric dryer will also fit);
- medium sized saucepan;
- colander;
- pan. It must be clean - if there are traces of soot, they will have to be removed;
- wide cutting board;
- clean cloth;
- thick paper.
Ingredients
And here everything is as simple as possible:
- green peas (500 g);
- water (1 l).
Time for preparing
Cooking time is 5-6 hours.
This is enough to properly dried fruit. But experienced housewives make several additional approaches - so the peas turn out to be harder, which prolongs its shelf life.
Did you know? Europeans began to use green peas in large quantities at the turn of the XVII-XVIII centuries. At the time, it was akin to fashion and a sign of good tone.With an electric dryer a little more difficult: with such a unit, drying takes more time (in total, it can take up to 12-16 hours).
Which peas are suitable for drying
Even before taking to dry the peas in normal home conditions, you need to choose the right raw materials. 
To begin with, in this crop the plants are divided into two lines: there are brain and shelling varieties. The first are considered ideal for drying (although shelling are also not bad for this purpose).
To make sure you are ready, pick up a couple of pods. If the peas did not have time to be rude and reach full wax ripeness - this is what you need. Another simple test - the taste (suitable for drying the fruit is always sweet and a little dense, without a noticeable taste of starch).
Freshly harvested pods are immediately peeled, and the peas themselves are sorted, removing damaged and unripe fruits. Do not forget to "calibrate" them: it is desirable that they be approximately the same size (large - to large, and small ones separately). This gradation must be observed during cooking.
Important! The best time to collect falls on the 15-17 days after flowering.Note that the collection and drying itself is done in one day: a difference of 5-6 hours is allowed between them. If you delay this process, the product will simply lose most of the beneficial compounds.
Step-by-step recipe for drying peas in the oven
Everything is ready, you can proceed. The algorithm will be as follows:
- First, the workpiece is thoroughly washed with running water. At the same time, the water in the saucepan is not heated.
- When the water is boiling, we send our raw materials there and mark 2 (maximum 3) minutes (this is enough for blanching).
- Then immediately remove the product and rinse in a colander under cold water - this is how they preserve the natural color.
- This is followed by another two-minute "bath" in boiling water. If you look closely, then this time the water will be clear (a sure sign that the peas are ready to dry).
- Now it needs to be poured on a clean cloth, where moisture will come off it faster.
- After letting the product dry a little, we pour the peas in one layer into a clean baking sheet lined with paper.
- In the case enters the oven. Its temperature for successful drying of domestic peas at this stage should be about + 45 ... + 50 ° С. Making sure that the oven is able to support such a regime, put the baking tray for an hour, not forgetting to keep an eye on the process.
- After this time, extract the workpiece. She will need to cool at room temperature (1-1.5 hours). Many immediately pour the peas on a cutting board and go over it with a rolling pin (or even put it under oppression): this is how emptiness is taken out of the raw material.
- We make the second approach, having previously increased the temperature of the oven to + 60 ... + 70 ° С. The scheme is the same: an hour of warming up with further cooling. This should be enough for the blank to dry completely. This is evident in the dark green color and its velvety overflow on the matte surface. If there is no such confidence, you can repeat the drying in the same mode.
Did you know? Once the peas knocked out ... the ship! The ship "Dnepr", passing through the Bosphorus, received a small hole, which could easily be fixed. But the water that got into the holds wetted the bags of legumes, which immediately swelled and became heavier. The result is that all the internal supports of the cargo compartment were deformed (the armature was completely torn).
How to store at home
There are no tricks. The main thing is to put dried peas in a glass jar and cover it tightly. But do not rush to do it with a barely extracted baking sheet, and let it cool. Rolling the fruit in the bank "piping hot", you run the risk of running mold, which will bring down all the work.
The optimal storage space is of course the cellar. Often, such stocks can be seen in the covered boxes on the loggia. On the container should not get the sun's rays, another requirement will be a constant low temperature. In this sense, even the side “pocket” of the refrigerator, in which you can put a knotted bag with supplies, will be suitable.
It is useful to know the finer points of drying mushrooms, apples, lemons, bananas, pumpkins, roses, zucchini, carrots, oranges, cherries, peaches.
What can be cooked from dried peas
The resulting preparation is used as an ingredient in many dishes. Among them: 
- soft cream soup;
- soups with dumplings and fish, mushrooms and pork - legumes in dry form perfectly complement their taste;
- children's or lean soups (and nourishing, and without load on the stomach);
- traditional soup;
- dumplings, which add mushrooms;
- pies - both fried and steam;
- delicious burgers;
- casserole;
- nourishing mashed potatoes and peas;
- bitch peas;
- lovers of the exotic will like dosas (these are Indian flatbreads, based on a mixture of legumes with rice);
- Many go even further, learning to cook vegetarian sausages on the basis of dry peas. In appearance, it looks like a pate, but the taste is practically Doctor.
Important! Most of these recipes mention peas, ground in a blender or coffee grinder.As you can see, the set is really decent. Moreover, many of these dishes are cooked no more than 1.5-2 hours, which can be attributed to their advantages.
Now you know what can be cooked from green, but already dry peas, and what the drying process looks like. We hope this information will help our readers to replenish their menu with new healthy dishes. Get more tasty and positive moments every day!
