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  • Hoppin' John Collection

    This item is in high demand and typically sells out before the holidays.

    Bring New Year's luck with a pot of Hoppin' John using the original low country ingredients, Carolina Gold Rice and Sea Island Red Peas. Grown on a small, family farm on the Carolina Sea Islands, these Ark of Taste ingredients will show you what hoppin' john is supposed to taste like.

    HOPPIN JOHN RECIPE

    Carolina Gold Rice gets its name from the beautiful golden hue in the field right before harvest. This long grain rice has exceptional aroma, flavor and texture. It has a subtle nutty almond and floral aromas and flavors as well as a starch structure that makes it uniquely prized by home cooks and chefs alike.

    A celebrated  Slow Food Ark of Taste ingredient it was the basis of the colonial and antebellum economy of Carolina and Georgia. Considered the grandfather of long grain rice in the Americas, Carolina Gold became a commercial staple grain in the coastal lands of Charles Towne in the Carolina Territory in 1685. Possessing superior flavor, aroma, texture and cooking qualities, Carolina Gold rice brought fortunes to those who produced it and created an influential culture and cuisine in the city of Charleston. After the depression, Carolina Gold rice lost its prominence to new varieties and became virtually extinct.

    Steeped in history, heirloom Sea Island Red Peas are a more flavorful and diminutive cousin to black eyed peas, grown only on the Carolina Sea Islands. Introduced from Africa by enslaved people, they became a staple of the Gullah Geechee kitchen, typically paired with Carolina Gold Rice. During the depression, cultivation came to a stop and the Sea Island Red Pea nearly went extinct. Thankfully due to a few small farms they are making a comeback. Sea Island Red Peas are the original ingredient for Hoppin' John, a Low Country New Years tradition served with collard greens and said to bring good luck all year. They are meaty and slightly sweet, but unlike the store bought black eyed peas you may have tried in the past they are packed with deep, rich flavor that can be described as "meaty."

    Greg Johnsman of Marsh Hen Mill (formerly Geechie Boy Mill) helps preserve this bit of South Carolina culinary tradition by growing the historic ingredients on his Edisto Island family farm. 

    Sea Island Red Peas 24 oz. package

    Carolina Gold Rice 24 oz. package

    Customer Reviews

    Based on 4 reviews
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    S
    SP
    New Year!

    Celebrating the New Year right means making a pot of Hoppin’ John to eat with relatives and friends. Always a delightful experience, I enjoy this ritual even more now that I’ve discovered Sea Island Red Peas and Carolina Gold Rice.

    A
    Ann
    Repeat purchaser

    Love this! The rice and the peas alone are excellent, and excellent together for Hoppin' John.

    K
    K Larson
    Not user friendly

    I would definitely buy the set again because I felt that it was high-quality and we really enjoyed making the Hoppin John
    However, there are no cooking instructions, and we had to do a lot of research to get a recipe to follow

    J
    James Underwood
    Cooking Directions?

    I’m excited to cook these for the first time on New Year’s Day, but there are no cooking directions on either package.
    Can someone with experience cooking these help please — How long to soak the peas before cooking and how long to cook the rice for best results? We would be grateful! Thank you!!

    Because we are not Geechie chefs we simply don't feel worthy of publishing a recipe for Hoppin John. We always recommend the recipe by BJ Dennis which you can find on youtube. You do not need to soak Sea Island Red Peas. They cook fairly quickly (approx 20 minutes) in stock or water. Check out the recipe by BJ Dennis, he's probably the best source for working with these ingredients.