Vegetables & Others
Dried Peas in gelato
Dried peas (Pisum sativum, mature seeds) are a high-protein, high-starch pulse with only about 11% moisture. In gelato they serve as a plant-based body and protein source or a flavour base, not as a sweetener, contributing solids, starch, protein and only a little sugar.
Balancing parameters
Per 100 g of product, verified against independent food-science sources (listed below).
| Parameter | Value |
|---|---|
| Total Solids | 88.7% |
| Water | 11.3% |
| Sugars | 8% |
| Fat | 1.2% |
| MSNF | 0% |
| Protein | 24.5% |
| POD (sweetening power) | 3 |
| PAC (anti-freezing power) | 5 |
Typical use: Niche: typically 2-6% of the mix when used as flour or paste; higher levels intensify starchy, legume flavour and firmness.
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Open the balancerHow to use it in gelato
Dried peas are used as pea flour or cooked, sieved paste in plant-based and experimental bases rather than as a sweetener. At about 88% solids and 24% protein, they add body, water-binding and structure, while their ~8% sugars are mostly raffinose-family oligosaccharides (stachyose, verbascose) rather than sucrose. Because those sugars are higher molecular weight, their anti-freezing power is modest (PAC around 5 sucrose-equivalents per 100 g) and their sweetness is negligible (POD around 3), so they barely shift the freezing curve. Balance sugars, fat and total solids with dedicated ingredients and treat peas as a protein/starch body agent.
Origin & background
The pea is one of the world's oldest domesticated crops: carbonised seeds from Neolithic sites in the Fertile Crescent date its cultivation to roughly 8,000-7,000 BCE, and it was the model organism in Gregor Mendel's 1860s genetics experiments. Dried mature peas have been a storable protein staple across Europe and Asia for millennia, long predating modern pea-protein isolates.
Frequently asked questions
Sources
- USDA FoodData Central, "Peas, split, mature seeds, raw", FDC ID 172428 (https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/food-details/172428/nutrients) - water 11.27g, protein 24.55g, fat 1.16g, total sugars 8.00g, fiber 25.5g per 100g
- USDA-derived mirror: https://tools.myfooddata.com/nutrition-facts/172428/wt1 (confirms ~11% water, ~24g protein, ~8g total sugars, ~1.2g fat, ~25g fiber)
- Recipal USDA data: https://www.recipal.com/ingredients/4690-nutrition-facts-calories-protein-carbs-fat-peas-split-mature-seeds-raw (protein 23.9g, fat 1.27g, total sugars 8.12g, fiber 25.4g)
- MDPI Foods 2025, "Quantitative Assessment of Soluble Carbohydrates in Two Panels of Pulses (Phaseolus vulgaris and Pisum sativum)", https://doi.org/10.3390/foods15020391 (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12841103/) - sucrose vs raffinose/stachyose/verbascose speciation in Pisum sativum seeds
- Springer, Genetic Resources and Crop Evolution (2016), "Raffinose family oligosaccharides in seeds of Pisum", https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10722-016-0384-1 - mature seed sucrose ~2.2-2.6%, stachyose 1.3-3.2%, verbascose 1.2-4.0%, raffinose 0.2-1.0%