mushy peas
{{Short description|Thick green lumpy mash of peas}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2024}}
{{Infobox food
|image=Fish, chips and mushy peas.jpg
|country=United Kingdom
|region=England
|caption=A British meal of fish and chips served with mushy peas in the ramekin on the right
}}
Mushy peas are dried marrowfat peas which are first soaked overnight in water with baking soda, and then rinsed in fresh water, after which the peas are gathered in a saucepan, covered with water, and brought to a boil, and then simmered until the peas are softened. The mush is seasoned with salt and pepper.Elaine Lemm. [http://britishfood.about.com/od/tzrecipes/r/Traditional-Mushy-Peas-Recipe.htm Traditional Mushy Peas Recipe] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130928023639/http://britishfood.about.com/od/tzrecipes/r/Traditional-Mushy-Peas-Recipe.htm |date=28 September 2013 }}. About.com. Retrieved 23 September 2013.
Throughout England and Scotland they are a traditional accompaniment to fish and chips. In Northern England they are also commonly served as part of a popular snack called pie and peas (akin to the South Australian pie floater; but instead of the thick pea soup of the floater, in pie and peas it is mushy peas which accompany the meat pie) and are considered to be a part of traditional British cuisine. They are sometimes also packed into a ball, dipped in batter, deep-fried, and served as a pea fritter.{{cite web|url=http://everything2.com/title/Pea+fritter|title=Pea fritter|website=Everything2.com|access-date=2 October 2018}} Mushy peas can also be bought ready-prepared in tin cans.
Local variants
File:Vegan fish and chips with mushy peas.jpg variation on "fish and chips" in York, England. The "fish" is made from banana blossom.]]
In Yorkshire, Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire and parts of Lincolnshire, mushy peas are often served as a snack on their own. In Nottinghamshire they are traditionally accompanied by mint sauce, and sold at open-air events such as fairs or fêtes. In Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire, mushy peas served with chips is called a 'pea mix'.
A variant (particularly popular around Bolton and Bury of Greater Manchester, and Preston, Lancashire) is parched peas – carlin peas (also known as maple peas or black peas) soaked and then boiled slowly for a long time; these peas are traditionally served with vinegar.
Mushy peas have occasionally been referred to as "Yorkshire caviar."[https://www.independent.co.uk/travel/48-hours-in/bristol-815657.html "48 hours in Bristol / Dining with the locals"], The Independent, 26 April 2008
Artificial colouring
Most commercially produced mushy peas contain artificial colourants to make them green; without these the dish would be murky grey.{{cite web| url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/foodanddrink/8288887/The-Kitchen-Thinker-Food-colourings.html| title=The Kitchen Thinker: Food colourings| work=The Telegraph| date=7 February 2011| access-date=3 April 2018}}
Traditionally the controversial colourant tartrazine (E102) had been used as one of the colourants; however, as recently as 2019, major manufacturers were using a combination of brilliant blue FCF (E133) and riboflavin (E101).{{Cite web |url=https://www.sainsburys.co.uk/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/gb/groceries/stock-up-and-save/batchelors-mushy-processed-peas-300g |title=Batchelors Original Mushy Peas 300g |publisher=Sainsburys |access-date=6 January 2020 }}