Andreas Hauslbetz/Alamy
What’s the optimal ratio of frozen peas to cold tap water to minimise the boiling time? (continued)
C. H. Johnson
Colyton, Devon, UK
You don’t need to cook frozen peas at all. If you do, you are destroying some of the taste and nutrients. Just take them out of the freezer 30 minutes before eating and mix them into whatever carbohydrate you are having: rice, potatoes or whatever. As long as they are unfrozen, they will be fine.
John Tissandier
Totnes, Devon, UK
You owe me an apology, 91av. Not only did I end up with a pile of blackened peas, but I had to spend hours cleaning the pan.
I very much doubt that you checked out the answer from Simon Dales on 23 May. Clearly, he played a trick on you with his supposed method of cooking frozen peas. [Ed: Simon wrote: “Put the peas into a pan with a lid and cook on full power for 5 minutes. This will overcome the latent heat of freezing and fill the pan with steam, which then circulates and cooks all the peas. Then stir and minimal power for another 5 minutes. Bon appétit.”]
I should have guessed. It doesn’t make sense: he makes a point about saving time, yet his method takes 10 minutes – far longer than the conventional way. He probably wrote the last bit, “Bon appétit”, accompanied by a sadistic laugh.
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