It is most often greyish-green or yellow in color depending on the regional variety of peas used; all are cultivars of Pisum sativum.

"[1] Eating fresh "garden" peas before they were matured was a luxurious innovation of the Early Modern period:[2] by contrast with the coarse, traditional peasant fare of pease pottage (or pease porridge), Potage Saint-Germain, made of fresh peas[3] and other fresh greens braised in light stock and pureed, was an innovation sufficiently refined that it could be served to Louis XIV of France, for whose court at the Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye it was named, c.

Although pease was replaced as a staple by potatoes during the nineteenth century, the food still remains popular in the national diet in the form of "mushy peas" commonly sold as the typical accompaniment to fish and chips, as well as with meat pies.

[10] One source[11] says "The most authentic version of Quebec's soupe aux pois use whole yellow peas, with salt pork, and herbs for flavour.

After cooking, the pork is usually chopped and returned to the soup, or sometimes removed to slice thinly and served separately ... Newfoundland Pea Soup is very similar, but usually includes more vegetables such as diced turnips and carrots, and is often topped with small dumplings called dough boys or doughballs."

It is a thick stew of green split peas, different cuts of pork, celeriac or stalk celery, onions, leeks, carrots, and often potato.

In the Royal Dutch Navy the pea soup is completed with small cubes of lard which float as white squares on top.

So-called koek-en-zopie outlets, small food and drinks stalls which spring up only during winters along frozen canals, ponds and lakes in the Netherlands and cater to ice skaters, usually serve snert as a savoury snack.

Nordic pea soup is normally cooked with pork – although the meat may sometimes be served on the side – and a typical recipe would also include onions and herbs like thyme and marjoram.

Consumption of pea soup in Sweden and Finland dates back to at least the 13th century, and is traditionally served on Thursdays.

The tradition of Thursday pea soup is common in restaurants, schools, military messes and field kitchens, as well as in homes, and it forms an unpretentious but well-liked part of social life.

[13] In Finland, Laskiainen, a winter festival associated with Shrove Tuesday, is generally celebrated by eating green pea soup and either pancakes or a seasonal pastry called laskiaispulla.

In addition, the dish is sometimes turned into a feast, with copious amounts of beer and snaps on festive occasions.

[17] In Denmark the dish can be dated to 1766 in written sources, but might have originated as early as the Bronze Age, when dried peas and cabbage became popular vegetables for the long winters there.

[18][19][20] In Norway pea soup is traditionally served at springtime and Easter, and is complemented with potatoes, carrots and vegetables.

[citation needed] In Poland, pea soup (grochówka [ɡrɔˈxuf.ka] ⓘ) is typically associated with the military, where it still remains a popular dish.