Mangetout or peas?

Mangetout pods tend to look more translucent and flatter since the peas inside develop slower than ordinary peas. Once you get your eye in you'll soon be able to pick them out.

There's no harm in eating the pods of ordinary peas, they will just be a little more stringy and not so sweet/tender.

 

I also tend to muddle mine up by growing the rows too close to each other. So last year I tried a purple mangetout variety called "Shiraz". Whilst it easy to spot the difference the mangetout were not particularly nice to eat so I haven't grown them again.