The migration of black-eyed peas to America began with the Atlantic slave trade, traders noticed food partialities and provisioned their ships with it. Eventually slave owners imported African food items to find cheap fare for the enslaved. Black-eyed peas also grow with no problem in the South, they can be left on the vines to dry and be effortlessly separated from their shells.
Another interesting bit of information found, which also lends to the legend of luck, was that during the 40-day siege of Vicksburg, Miss., Union soldiers took all stored foods, crops, and livestock and destroyed what they couldn’t carry, not including black-eyed peas because they thought it was animal fodder. With southerners having used this crop as a staple in their diets, being left mainly with this was no hardship.
Other occurrences with luck and black-eyed peas in the past include stories of men putting black-eyed peas into their wallets to draw prosperity into their lives. Maybe there is a no more luckier food than black-eyed peas, with it’s seeming connections with survival and new beginnings. Grandma Maud’s consider them lucky as well which is why we decided to produce a Grandma Maud’s Black-eyed Pea Bean Meal.
This heat loving crop is relatively free of pests and disease, and surprisingly it has a bloom which produces nectar and large areas can be a source of honey. In the Southern U.S. the peas are usually cooked with a pork product for flavoring, but can many times be substituted with other meat like smoked turkey tails.
The traditional black-eyed peas meal includes collard, turnips, or mustard greens, cornbread, and ham. The peas, which swell when cooked, symbolize prosperity; the greens symbolize money; the pork because pigs root forward when foraging, represents positive motion.
The long history of something like black-eyed peas is everlasting, and here at Grandma Maud’s want to be a part of that history with our flavorful bean meals. A wide array of delicious meals can be made with our bean meals whether they’re the centerpiece or the side dish, let us become a part of your family’s meal.
Grandma Maud’s, helping you prepare delicious meals, not just servings of food!
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