These varieties spice up the season’s selection

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Sugar snap peas: Though sugar snap peas are so omnipresent these days that we take them for granted, they’re a relatively new addition to the vegetable lineup. Introduced in the late 1970s by a plant breeder named Calvin Lamborn, sugar snaps became so popular so quickly that it seems as if they’ve been around forever. It’s small wonder so many people love them. They’re irresistible -- reliably crunchy and sweet, combining the best qualities of snow peas and English peas and, frankly, surpassing both in many ways. One great way to enjoy them is in a simple salad with shrimp. Chop some chives and shallots and stir them into prepared mayonnaise. Combine cooked, shelled shrimp in a bowl with a couple handfuls of sugar snaps and stir in just enough of the mayonnaise to lightly bind them. That’s dinner. One caveat: Some varieties of sugar snaps need stringing, but that’s easy to do. Just snap off the stem and pull down like a zipper.

$3.50 per pound, various vendors

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Page mandarins: These are one of the most delicious of the many mandarin varieties available today. Pages are a little harder to peel than Satsumas or Clementines, but the flavor is rich and extremely sweet with a complex, lingering finish that’s almost like pink grapefruit. Also keep an eye out for the varieties called Lee and the California honeys, which are also coming into season and can be simply spectacular.

$3 per pound, Garcia Organic Farm and Friend’s Ranch

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russ.parsons@latimes.com