Selecting Peeps
Before you begin to cook with Peeps, you need to consider the important questions of what kinds of Peeps to use and where to obtain them.The two most common varieties of Easter Peeps are regular Peeps Chicks and the more recent Peeps Bunnies. These are indistinguishable in flavor, but each has a distinct shape that may work better in some recipes. Yellow, pink, and lavender Peeps are the most common; Once again, flavor differences are subtle if present at all. It's mostly a matter of aesthetics.
Supermarkets commonly stock Peeps. They generally come stuck together and shrink-wrapped in little cartons. This is the way that most people experience their Peeps. It is undeniably the quickest and easiest way to get on your way to Peep-cooking heaven.
However, there is another way of obtaining the marshmallow goodness, and it is the way that is much preferred by true connoisseurs. There is nothing in the world to compare to freshly harvested Peeps. To begin, you should plant your Peeps in late spring. Use a shovel to dig a little hole, then drop Peeps in clusters of two or three into the hole. You may actually eat most of the Peep body; As long as the eyes are planted, the Peeps will grow. Different colors may be planted in the same hole, but you will probably want to keep the varieties separate.
Finally, it's time to pick your peeps! After several months the plants will grow, mature, and eventually bear fruit in the form of delicious, fresh Peeps. Pick them when they have just become plump, fluffy, and soft. Peeps plants will generally continue to produce for up to five weeks.
Regardless of how you obtain your Peeps, the important part is that you get them! Now let's head to the kitchen and brush up on some basic cooking skills and look at how to do them with Peeps!
