0:00:05 > 0:00:08This is Blue Peter, but mini.
0:00:08 > 0:00:12Expect epic adventures, makes, bakes, badges, pets,
0:00:12 > 0:00:15presenters and your post.
0:00:15 > 0:00:19We've only got five minutes, so get ready for your Blue Peter adventure.
0:00:21 > 0:00:23Radzi, Radzi, wake up, wake up!
0:00:23 > 0:00:27Mum, I don't want to go to school today!
0:00:27 > 0:00:31Come on, come on, we've got to go and harvest the peas!
0:00:33 > 0:00:35Why am I asleep in a field?
0:00:35 > 0:00:40It's a good question, and the answer lies with these.
0:00:40 > 0:00:43Peas! The UK loves peas,
0:00:43 > 0:00:47with farms growing more than two billion portions per year,
0:00:47 > 0:00:49which is incredible!
0:00:49 > 0:00:51But what's even more incredible
0:00:51 > 0:00:54is the race against time it takes to harvest them.
0:00:54 > 0:00:58A race that starts very early in the morning.
0:00:58 > 0:00:59So I'm here in Lincolnshire
0:00:59 > 0:01:02in one of the biggest pea-harvesting farms in the UK
0:01:02 > 0:01:06to help explain to you how peas go from here
0:01:06 > 0:01:08to on your dinner plate at home.
0:01:08 > 0:01:11And to help do that is pea-grower, farmer
0:01:11 > 0:01:14and all-round pea guru Stephen Francis.
0:01:14 > 0:01:18Most of the 9,000 peas that the average person eats
0:01:18 > 0:01:19in Britain are frozen,
0:01:19 > 0:01:23and to get them in the freezer tasting as good as possible,
0:01:23 > 0:01:25Stephen's farm don't mess around.
0:01:25 > 0:01:28We're here this morning to harvest these peas.
0:01:28 > 0:01:31As soon as those harvesters start rolling and the pod breaks,
0:01:31 > 0:01:35those particular peas must be frozen in 150 minutes
0:01:35 > 0:01:36to retain all the flavour in them.
0:01:38 > 0:01:41150 minutes? How do they do that?
0:01:41 > 0:01:44I'm going to follow the pea every step of the way.
0:01:44 > 0:01:46Time starts...now!
0:01:47 > 0:01:48First up, picking.
0:01:49 > 0:01:54The guys here COULD pick their 5,000 acres by hand, or...
0:01:57 > 0:02:00..they could use some serious technology.
0:02:00 > 0:02:06This harvester can pick more than 300 peas every single second!
0:02:06 > 0:02:09And I'm getting a "peas" of the action!
0:02:09 > 0:02:11Obviously we're against the clock
0:02:11 > 0:02:13to try to get the peas to the factory in time,
0:02:13 > 0:02:16so we've got to be as efficient as we possibly can.
0:02:16 > 0:02:19You're always trying to make sure that you're using the full width
0:02:19 > 0:02:22- of the harvester every single time you go up...- Yeah.
0:02:22 > 0:02:25- ..and every single time you go down.- That's it. Yep.
0:02:25 > 0:02:29And this bad boy doesn't just pick the peas - it then sucks them out
0:02:29 > 0:02:34of their pods, giving us the little green balls we all know and love.
0:02:34 > 0:02:38Tom, I've genuinely enjoyed watching you drive this thing.
0:02:38 > 0:02:41Would be possible for me to sit in the driver's seat?
0:02:41 > 0:02:43Yeah, I think you can do.
0:02:43 > 0:02:44- Yes!- Not a problem.
0:02:44 > 0:02:46We are off...
0:02:46 > 0:02:48You're harvesting peas!
0:02:48 > 0:02:49We're harvesting peas!
0:02:49 > 0:02:51Just keep it straight.
0:02:51 > 0:02:53The reason I can't talk now is
0:02:53 > 0:02:56this is like when you first learn to ride a bike.
0:02:58 > 0:02:59It takes all of your concentration.
0:03:00 > 0:03:03Here you go, Radzi. Here's what you've been harvesting!
0:03:03 > 0:03:04Wow!
0:03:04 > 0:03:07That is interactive harvesting!
0:03:07 > 0:03:08I've literally just harvested that
0:03:08 > 0:03:10and you're now seeing it on Blue Peter!
0:03:13 > 0:03:15Mum, I just harvested some peas!
0:03:15 > 0:03:18Now we've just got to take this lot over to the factory.
0:03:20 > 0:03:22One hour gone
0:03:22 > 0:03:24and the peas' journey has only begun.
0:03:24 > 0:03:25Next, they need to be prepared
0:03:25 > 0:03:28so they're good enough for the end of your fork,
0:03:28 > 0:03:32and that happens in the biggest factory I have ever seen.
0:03:32 > 0:03:36Stuart is the man who can show me what happens here, after he puts me
0:03:36 > 0:03:38in a wicked hairnet!
0:03:38 > 0:03:41This is where we try and get rid of
0:03:41 > 0:03:43any of the material that's come off the field
0:03:43 > 0:03:45and cleaned up before it goes into
0:03:45 > 0:03:47the blanching and freezing operation.
0:03:47 > 0:03:50- And that, I take, is inside? - That's inside.
0:03:50 > 0:03:53- Can we go there now? - You certainly can.- Amazing.
0:03:53 > 0:03:57Once cleaned, the next stop is blanching - boiling the peas
0:03:57 > 0:03:59so they're fresh for freezing.
0:04:00 > 0:04:02This happens as quickly as possible
0:04:02 > 0:04:04in a very noisy part of the factory.
0:04:04 > 0:04:06What is going on here?
0:04:15 > 0:04:17I don't have a clue what he said!
0:04:17 > 0:04:22And to freeze this many peas, you need a serious freezer.
0:04:22 > 0:04:25Is that the best freezer you've ever seen in your life?!
0:04:26 > 0:04:29I genuinely feel like I'm in the North Pole!
0:04:29 > 0:04:30And this machine gives the peas
0:04:30 > 0:04:33the sort of treatment Anna and Elsa would be proud of.
0:04:33 > 0:04:37You know, like in the film! It's Frozen. Ah, forget it.
0:04:49 > 0:04:50Wow!
0:05:00 > 0:05:01The work at this farm
0:05:01 > 0:05:03is really un-pea-lievable. Ha!
0:05:03 > 0:05:07And it's been fascinating to see what goes into the humble pea.
0:05:10 > 0:05:14But all these guys' incredible efforts have inspired me.
0:05:15 > 0:05:16Thank you very much, madam.
0:05:16 > 0:05:20There is a pea world record set with the most number of peas eaten
0:05:20 > 0:05:22with chopsticks in one hour.
0:05:22 > 0:05:24That number is 7,000.
0:05:24 > 0:05:26Off we go.
0:05:26 > 0:05:31Now, I've had absolutely no practice for this, whatsoever.
0:05:31 > 0:05:34Although that's never stopped me before.
0:05:34 > 0:05:37But it soon becomes clear that I'm way off record pace.
0:05:38 > 0:05:41So I'm not a world record holder, I think it's safe to say,
0:05:41 > 0:05:43but you know what? I'm not even bothered anyway,
0:05:43 > 0:05:45I've had such a good day.
0:05:45 > 0:05:49From farms to your plates at home - easy-peasy.
0:05:49 > 0:05:51It's peas, because it's like the...
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