Snow Pea

Why snow pea is rated low

Snow peas sit in the low range at 10 pods (33g), and the record does not flag any individual FODMAP subgroup as raised at that serving, so the rating rests on the overall load rather than one particular sugar. What makes this food worth reading about is how short the climb is. The next tested rung, 13⅓ pods (44g), is already high. A few extra pods tossed into the wok is the difference, which is why the number of pods on the plate matters more here than it does for most vegetables.

What changes your risk

• Serving size is the whole story The published data puts 10 pods (33g) in the low range and 13⅓ pods (44g) in the high range, with nothing tested in between. Treat 10 pods (33g) as the amount the evidence actually supports and do not assume a slightly bigger pile behaves like a slightly bigger version of the low serving.
• Stacking across the meal No single subgroup is recorded for snow peas, so the thing to watch is the total FODMAP load of the whole plate. A serving of snow peas alongside several other low servings in one stir-fry, eaten within a couple of hours, can add up even though each component on its own is low. Spreading servings across the day is easier on the total than piling them into one sitting.
• Cooking does not remove them, but cooking water can Heat, freezing, blending and chopping do not destroy FODMAPs, so a stir-fried or steamed pod carries what the raw pod carried. Boiling in plenty of water and pouring the water away is different, because water-soluble FODMAPs can leach out into the liquid you discard. Stir-frying, steaming, roasting and microwaving keep everything in the pod.
• The sauce, not the pod Snow peas rarely arrive plain. Stir-fry sauces, oyster and hoisin style sauces, packet seasoning and most stocks are built on onion and garlic, and that is usually what turns a low FODMAP side into a hard meal. Garlic-infused oil carries the flavour without the fructans, as long as no solid pieces are left in it.
• Other peas are other foods Sugar snap peas and green garden peas are separate entries with their own tested servings. The 10 pods (33g) figure belongs to snow peas and does not transfer to them.

What else works

If you want more green on the plate than 10 pods (33g) allows, build the rest of it from vegetables that are low in their own right rather than adding pods: green beans, bok choy, carrot sticks, bell pepper, cucumber and zucchini all give crunch and colour to a stir-fry or salad. Baby spinach wilted in at the end works when you want volume. The lookalikes are the catch. Sugar snap peas and green peas look like the same vegetable in a slightly different shape, but they are counted separately and this serving does not cover them, so look each one up rather than swapping by eye.

How to keep it low

Buy pods that are flat, bright and crisp, since limp pods get cooked longer and tend to be piled higher to make up the volume. Count 10 pods (33g) into the bowl before anything hits the pan, because once they are mixed through a stir-fry the serving is impossible to judge. Snap the stem end and pull the string down the seam, then add the pods in the last minute or two so they stay crunchy. For flavour, start the pan with garlic-infused oil, and finish with chives or the green tops of spring onions rather than a bottled sauce. Ordering out, ask for the vegetables plain with sauce on the side, and keep the pods to a counted portion of the dish rather than the whole serve.

Common questions

how many snow peas are low fodmap

The tested low serving is 10 pods (33g). At 13⅓ pods (44g) the published data records snow peas as high, so the gap between the two is small.

can i eat snow peas on the elimination phase

Yes, at 10 pods (33g), which is the serving the data supports as low. Larger helpings are not a smaller version of that serving, since the next tested amount is already high.

do cooked snow peas have fewer fodmaps than raw

Stir-frying, steaming, roasting and microwaving do not lower FODMAP content, because nothing leaves the pod. Boiling in plenty of water and tipping the water away can carry off some water-soluble FODMAPs, but the serving still applies.

are sugar snap peas the same as snow peas

No. Sugar snap peas are a separate food with their own tested serving, so the 10 pods (33g) figure for snow peas does not apply to them.