Rice Pea

Rice Peas are a Gullah Geechee variety of lady pea used in coastal Carolina Hoppin' John and Reezy Peezy alongside Carolina Gold Rice. CheFarmer Matthew Raiford of Gilliard Farms sent these seeds to us from his ancestral farmland in Georgia, and he likes to use them in hummus, succotash, and blended with other beans: they have a good, fine flavor and aren’t as earthy as other peas. See the article at the bottom of this page by David Shields to learn lots more about this Rice Pea.

Days to maturity: 90

Seeds per pack: 40

Germination rate: 84.16% on 03/08/2024

Planting / harvesting notes

Direct sow southern peas safely after frost, any time between late May and mid-July. This is a climbing vine crop, so it benefits from being planted next to a structure or trellis. Plant 1" deep with 3-4" spacing, either in 1 row on each side of the net trellis. Being a legume, it does fairly well in poor soil and adds nitrogen.

Seed keeping notes

Southern peas are self-pollinating, though it is best to isolate different varieties of V. unguiculata (including black-eyed peas, southern peas, cowpeas, and long beans) at least 20 feet, if not much farther to avoid unwanted cross-pollination. Allow beans to dry fully into a brown crispy state. This is when they are ready to harvest for seed. If necessary, lay them out to dry a little longer in their pods.

Rice Pea, by David Shields

The following descriptions and historical records of this pea were published here by David Shields, who is known throughout the American South as the "Flavor Saver." He is Chairman of the Board of the Carolina Gold Rice Foundation, holds the Carolina Distinguished Professorship at the University of South Carolina, and chairs Slow Food's Ark of Taste Committee for the American South.

One of that class of white pea called "lady peas", the rice pea for a century and a half has been reputed to be unexcelled in flavor. From the 1896 North Carolina Experimental Station Bulletin: "The table quality of this pea is considered superior to that of any other of the cowpea family" (342). Esteemed for its delicacy, its creamy texture, and its way of harmonizing with other flavors, the rice pea early attracted the attention of cooking professionals. From the Boston Cooking School Magazine 1914: "There is a field pea called the rice pea, grown extensively in southern states, which is white, eye and all, with a slightly creamy tint, and it is even more delicate of flavor than the black-eyed peas; these are as delicate as early June peas, and they retain their natural color when cooked, and do not change the color of meat cooked with them. Perhaps the reason rice peas are not grown more generally is that they are not as hardy as black-eyed peas and other field peas. These delicately flavored rice peas, cooked with tender young pork, are far and away more appetizing than pork and beans, and almost or quite as nutritious. They are good, either cooked after they have become dry in the autumn and winter, or when young and tender in the late Spring and early Summer. Southern ladies often cook the tender young peas, pods and all, as snap beans are cooked.They are also good, creamed, either fresh in Spring or Summer, or when dry" (59). Hoppin' John made using rice peas and Carolina Gold rice was considered the most refined form of that dish.

Description of the Plant: Semi recumbent vine, vigorous growing; small light green semi-globose leaf and stalk; trails at end of vines. Snow white blooms. Pea form—small white kidney verging on semi-translucent. Pod, small, yellow. Very late ripening. Peas are heavy yielding. Some points worth noting—there was nomenclature confusion, with some persons calling the small lady pea or lady finger pea a white rice pea. But the small lady is a crowder pea with a roundish shape, not the kidney shape of the Rice Pea. USDA PI 663025

Seed for the rice pea does circulate in the seed saving circles. But as field peas go, the rice pea is peculiarly sensitive to local conditions. If the soil is too acid, or the weather too dry, the young plants wilt and die. So during the restorations of the crop in the Lowcountry during the 2010s, it took four years of selecting seed from the few plants that thrived in order to get consistently productive fields. But once Glenn Roberts, Ben Dubbard and others began steady production, the pea became a culinary favorite. At the April 9th, 2017, meeting of the Carolina Gold Rice Foundation (the one that introduced Moruga Hill Rice and celebrated Francis Morean's work), B. J. Dennis cooked some up curried West Indian style. Memorable. The peas lack the chalkiness and graininess of many of the black eyed and cream pea varieties.

While numbers of theories have arisen about why rice peas bear their name (there is actually a class of pulses that are designated rice peas/beans that includes green and red rice peas), the general thought is that they were co-crops with rice in Italy, West Africa, and America. They were a water tolerant field pea (most aren't).

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