All three types are sweet and tender and need very little cooking, if any. Because peas, like corn, contain lots of sugar which converts to starch after picking, it is best to buy them as fresh as possible and use them right away. They must be removed from their fibrous pods before cooking. Snow peas and sugar snap peas, on the other hand, are eaten pod and all. Green peas are most traditionally served tossed with fresh mint, butter, or both, additions that also flatter sugar snap peas.
Green peas are the basis of many pureed spring soups, with or without cream.
And they are added to innumerable casseroles a nd melanges. Peas are popular in India, where they may be found in vegetarian curries along with cauliflower and potatoes, as well as in pilafs. Snow peas are especially common in Chinese dishes, where their crunch might be fortified with the addition of the different but equally spirited crunch of water chestnuts. They are simply harvested before the bulbs form underground. Ramps, which are a variety of wild leek, with an even milder, sweeter flavor, are available only in the spring.