Peas the reason for the freezin'

So my son called and offered me a bushel of peas....Cream 40's or cream 12's.  There are so many variations of peas in Georgia.  There are cream 40's, cream 12's, zipper, purple hull, white acre, field peas...and the list goes on.  I have yet to really become a connoisseur of peas, however.  The ones I like are small and green. :)  I have tried several kinds but now it is time to really get down to doing more than eating them.
Last year I went by a local place called P & P Hardware and Garden center to pick up the peas I ordered.  Armed with instructions from my mother-in-law, I successfully blanched and froze 10 bags of peas.  Not bad for about $23.  This year I was offered a more ambitious lesson: a bushel of unshelled peas! 
Honestly, prior to last year I have never seen these peas in any form except on my plate or on my fork so this was going to be a new adventure.  I had no clue about shelling much less what they looked like but I say yes to the challenge!  So, how would I do?  Well, today there are 6 quarts of peas frozen in my freezer awaiting fall meals.  My fingers and thumbs have healed nicely, thank you.  But the process was so foreign that I thought it made for good blogging material.
First of all, have you seen a bushel of unshelled peas straight from the farm?  Take a peek:

Don't be fooled by those innocent peas....they weighed about 30-35 pounds, however, it wasn't the weight of the peas that were going to be the burden.  It took 3 full days of shelling ( by hand) to get the reward of 6 quarts of peas.

We broke off one end of the peas and pulled on the slender strings that were left to open up the pod.  Sometimes it worked.  Sometimes it required more effort to get the pods opened.  We shelled for 6 hours...it was morning and evening the first day.

Two of my children tried the "slice the pod open with a knife" trick.  Sometimes it worked but many times it was tricky to get your slit straight down the pod.  For an impatient soul like me, I quit the knife pretty quick!  If I couldn't get a slender string to pull it open with,  I tried to rip it in the middle.
Once it was open, I slid my thumbs along the pod to get the peas out ( hence, the sore thumbs).

After 8 hours of shelling, we took a break but these pods have a short shelf life so they have to be kept cool and dry. The peas have to stay cold if you aren't going to blanched and dry so they won't sprout.  One veteran friend told me to keep the pods cool and dry so they don't start sprouting even within 24 hours....people, this is serious business.  By this time I was asking her if she knew of a shelling machine we could use  There was one but I was not quite ready to pay the same price to rent as it took me to purchase these green veggies. It was morning and evening, the second day. 

I now know that I will try things differently next time ( like getting them shelled mechanically) but hypothetically speaking, if I were to get these pods again, I would need a better plan for keeping them cool and dry.  My novice plan was to put them on butcher paper under my ceiling fan. 

The next day I was shelling with the help of Ethan and a few loyal family members who were willing to suffer along with me.  I noticed that some of our pods were already drying out so we had to pick up the pace. Tired but not defeated, the plan was for me to help shell but blanch and freeze when we had at least a quart's worth while my "support team" (Thanks Ethan and Sophia) courageously put thumbs on the line!

Along with the pods, there are clear shell linings inside.  Not sure what they do or if you keep 'em but I didn't.  I rinsed my batch of peas thoroughly and picked out any peas that looked like the bugs had enjoyed them already.  Once I had them clean, the peas entered the pot of hot water to boil.

Once those peas get to boiling, its time for some quick work.  You know how when potatoes boil, there is a white foam ( the starch) that rises to the top?  Well, I am not sure of the starch content for these peas but a similar white foam comes to the top so it has to be skimmed off. With more peas comes more skimming!  I was doing these in small batches so it was a smaller amount but still evident.

                                                                    Nasty, huh?
O.K., so we are not cooking these peas (that's later for Thanksgiving!) so blanching takes about 3-5 minutes.  These beautiful kidney shaped veggies start to get a little darker green color and then you got to get them off the heat and into an ice bath.

I move my fingers around in that ice water so that ALL the heat gets out.  Then its time to drain them and put them in freezer bags.

Six of those beautiful bags await our tummies!  Was it worth all the pain in the thumbs and the back?  When I consider the cost, I won't say its cheaper by the penny comparison but I will say the bonding we had over pods and the bonding we will do over mashed potatoes and peas will be worth it.  My mind has to be set on those things or I don't think I would have EVER attempted this project.

One of my friends laughingly said they just weren't country folks so they had never done this before and I would say I am a citified gal...with a little country in her!