Black eyed peas are a New Year’s tradition for many people, especially those in the south.
My husband grew up eating them and loves them. Two of my kids love them and want me to cook them more often.
I on the other hand guess I will never be a true southerner, because I do not like them. I don’t like the taste or the smell of them. So, you will probably not find me cooking them on New Year’s Day.
And for those of you that are going to try to convince me I just have not had them the right way, I have tried them many ways, really I have. My husband loves them, so I have tried the canned ones, the frozen ones, and even cooking the dried ones.
I have tried them on their own, in soups, cooked like a basic pot of beans. I have even tried with cottage cheese which is one of the ways my husband grew up eating them. Really they are right up there with my other least favorite foods.
Now, please tell me I am not the only one that does not like black eyed peas. I keep seeing all kinds of posts on other food sites for recipes using black eyed peas, but surely I am not the only one that doesn’t like them. I am sure there are others of you that are like me and did not grow up eating them, and find them a bit strange.
And for those of you that love them, how do you eat them? Even though I don’t like them, the rest of my family does, so I could use a few ideas on how to cook them for those in my family that do enjoy them.
I love them! I eat them often, not just at New Years. I bought 2 bags at the store yesterday and have a ham cooking today just to be able to put the bone in with the beans. I like them best when I cook them from dry stage but canned and frozen are just fine with me.
Black eyed peas are right up there with brussel sprouts as my least favorite foods ever.
I did not like them much before I got married, but my husband likes them so much that I’ve learned to enjoy them. Fortunately he likes them straight out of the can. I agree that they are more mealy than most beans, and I still like most other kinds better. I like them mixed with rice, which my grandmother called Hopping John. She probably would have added in celery and onions and stuff.
I don’t like them, either. I’m cooking them on Saturday for my husband, but I won’t be eating any.
I don’t like them, and no one else in my family likes them. Probably because I do the cooking and I don’t cook them so they haven’t had them much. I think I made them 1 time in the 19+yrs I’ve been married.
You could try them in something like Texas Caviar…YUMMY!!
I have never had them, but am going to try out a vegetarian Hoppin’ John recipe for Saturday lunch. I am just starting to really like beans, and just beginning to explore different ways to cook dried beans. I think that the additional items and the flavors that the Hoppin’ John recipe I’m trying to help me to like the black-eyes peas (hopefully!). Here’s the link to the recipe: https://www.cdkitchen.com/recipes/recs/2332/Vegetarian-Hoppin-John138976.shtml
I just made Hoppin John last night for a dinner for 20. Everyone loved them, even the kids. I love black eyed peas in soup, or any other way. Yum!
Casey, your first commenter, and myself are very much alike! I love them and eat them quite often not just on New Years Day! I make mine from dried beans in a crock pot with sliced onion, Rotel, seasonings and a big ham bone. Just put it all together, stir and cook overnight. Serve with cornbread! I like them from a can or frozen too…. I only ate them as a side dish growing up but when I married I found that people here in the south make them in a pot just like brown beans. I absolutely love them!
I was born & raised, and have lived in the South all of my life. I consider myself a Southerner to the core, but I don’t like them either! And thankfully my husband doesn’t either, so I don’t ever cook them!
Neither my husband (born and raised in the south and fed blackeyes ALL the time) or myself (born and raised in NY and never heard of a black eye pea until after I moved south and got married) will eat them. We both think they are gross! However my 2 brothers, who obviously are just as northern as I am, both love them. My oldest brother did not have them until we moved south just before I married and my second brother had them in the service. I guess it is more what your tastes are than where you grew up. Most of my 6 kids like them even though they never had them at home growing up. They did get them in school occasionally or at other family members homes.
Well, I grew up almost as far north as you can get (Canada) and had never had Pinto beans or Blackeyed peas, but I love them both. My husband is from New Mexico, and grew up on Pintos, and occasionally Blackeyed.
I think it all depends on the seasoning as beans of any kind by themselves are not real tasty. If you’re interested Lynn, or anyone else, let me know, and I’ll send you my method. I don’t really have a recipe – kind of a bit of this and a bit of that, depending on what’s available. My kids always liked them all, so I guess I’m doing something right. My daughter was ust here yesterday, and tasted the ones I’d just cooked, and begged a bowl to take home with her (and she’s kind of picky), so guess they’re still turning out good!
The only way I eat black eyed peas is in Texas cavilar. In other way and I won’t touch it.
I grew up in the south and was FORCED to eat at least 1 black-eyed pea every new year. BLECH! I really hate them.
But my husband got me to try some black-eyed pea dip that his mom makes and it is soooo good! Now I eat black-eyed peas without complaint – you can’t taste them! LOL
I don’t remember the measurements but it uses old english cheese, green chiles, jalapenos, and other stuff I can’t remember. We have some cooking in the crock pot right now and it smells so good!
We don’t like them here. I think they taste like dirt. I love most other beans, so don’t know what the problem is. My mom makes a wonderful smelling soup with ham, black eyed peas, tomatoes, and some other veggies. I taste it and think “boy this would be great with some other bean in it”. Oh well… There aren’t very many things that I just won’t eat, but black eyed peas is one of them.
We love them. I cooked mine today. Instead of using water to cook them in, try using chicken broth,onions, ham and I added some jalapeno’s (about 1 1/2 tablespoons) just for the added spice.
My husband said that today’s blacked eyed peas were the best he had ever tasted.
Saute 1/4 chopped onion, 1/2 stick diced celery in 1/4 cup butter. When the onions turn translucent, add 5 chopped mushrooms and continue to saute until mushrooms were done. Add 1 can of chicken broth and 1 small split smoked ham hock. Add just enough water to cover. Cook about 2 hours until meat falls off bone. Add 1 pound of frozen black eyed peas and water to cover peas. Simmer 40 minutes.
P.S. Black eyed peas at New Years were a tradition with your husband’s grandparents.
There is a HUGE difference in the taste o fresh=picked, canned and dried. The best is fresh-picked. They must be cooked with either bacon pieces or ham. Adding dice onions also is good. As a minimum, adding a tablespoon or so of bacon grease enliens the taste of the black-eved peas. I like to serve them with collard greens and if I am really feeling up to it, cornbread.
As far as canned black-eyed peas, the brand name is very important. My favorite brand is Ellen’s which is preseasoned.
The fresher that the black-eyed peas, the better. Otherwise, they do have a rather drab, boring taste. If you think of cooking them ilke pintos, I am sure you would get better results.
I also add garlic. I don’t remember the cooking time.
I don’t like them at all! My mom likes to serve them on New Years day. I have switched to buying her marzipan pigs to try to start a new tradition!
Yes, my wife & 8I are from the northeast, and we both think black-eyed peas taste like dirt.
I found this blog post by searching “black eyed peas” and “smell “. As a Jersey Girl born and raised, never in my 65+ years had I ever eaten the stuff, but a bag of them was included in the Rancho Gordo Bean Club box last month. While washing them up after picking through and tossing any that looked funky and a few small stones, the smell of them when wet caused me to do a double take. I called my husband to the kitchen to take a whiff and he said they smelled fine to him. I don’t have much hope for these, and I’m grateful there’s some leftovers in the fridge if needed, but after the way 2020 went I’m willing to take at least a forkful if it means a better 2021!