Camellia Blackeye Peas

Blackeye peas are medium-sized, beige beans (in the field pea family) with black markings and a distinctive, delicate flavor all their own. While very popular in American Southern and soul food dishes, they are also consumed in India, Africa, Europe, Asia, and South America. Lucius Hamilton Hayward founded L. H. Hayward and Company in 1923. L. H. was from Meridian, Miss. He moved his family to New Orleans around 1920 and established himself in business as a wholesale supplier of fresh fruits and vegetables. During the 1920's the company served the local grocery stores and the French Quarter markets with produce grown on farms in Louisiana and Mississippi. In 1947, Camellia Brand was trademarked and the first packaged products were introduced. Today, the company packages nineteen varieties of beans, peas and lentils in six different sizes ranging from one pound to one hundred pounds out of their Harahan, LA plant.