Crunchy Split Pea Soup -- Why?

[rp2813]

All on-line explanations say it's old peas, but this happens whenever my friend makes split pea soup.  I was with him a couple of nights ago when he bought the peas and we verified the sell-by date.

 

I follow a simple recipe and my pea soup turns out fine.  I don't know what he's doing that makes his peas seem like they're not all the way cooked.  If anything, he simmers it for longer than I do mine.

 

What else could be causing this? 

 

[ea56]

Ralph the only thing that I can think of that would cause crunchy Split Pea Soup is the peas not being cooked long enough.  

 

Usually split peas become tender quicker than dried beans do. Just keep testing the peas for doneness, and don’t consider the soup to be sufficiently cooked until the peas are tender.

 

 If you press a pea or two up against the side of the pot with a spoon they should smash easily and completely, or just taste them.  If the peas are still hard, crunchy or tough, they aren’t done and it ain’t soup yet.  When they are done the texture should be creamy when bitten into.

 

It’s been a while since I last made Split Pea Soup, but I would think that between 1 to 2 hours of simmering should be enough.

 

Eddie

 

[combo52]

Crunchy Split Peas

When cooking be sure there is little or no fats or oils in the pot, also I always use a pressure cooker to speed up cooking.

John L.

 

[rp2813]

I agree Eddie, but it seems this soup can be cooked and cooked, reheated again and again, and still the crunch remains.  It's been the same with batch after batch over the past year or so. 

 

One thing he does that I don't do:  He soaks the peas overnight.  This seems like it would help them to soften, not make them less likely to, but that's the only difference -- other than seasonings, maybe, in how he makes his.  I'm going to inquire about how much water or broth he uses.   I don't know of any other ingredient that if added or omitted, would so consistently effect this type of outcome.

 

It's very odd and I can't imagine that the cooking vessel or the type of heat (electric in this case) has anything to do with it, but I'm at a loss for explanations.

 

[ea56]

Salt

can keep dried beans from becoming tender if added to the water before the beans are done.  Perhaps your friend may be using salt right from the beginning and this hinders the peas from becoming tender.  I’ve also read that adding a pinch of baking soda to the water at the beginning can help tenderize the peas.  My Mom always put a little baking soda in the water when she cooked dried beans.

 

Eddie

 

[rp2813]

Interesting about fats and oils.  The simple recipe I use calls for two tbsp. of butter or oil to saute the mirepoix.    It also calls for chicken or vegetable broth, which contains salt.  Then there's the ham bone or hock that gets added before bringing everything up to a boil, which also contains a certain amount of fat.  And yet my soup turns out smooth without any crunchy peas, and after less than an hour of simmering.

 

I've not heard of adding baking soda, but it's worth a shot.   I'll ask him if he salts the soaking water.  There is for sure something about his process that is causing this, and I'm certain it's not old peas every time.

 

I've often wondered about using a (standard stove-top) pressure cooker for pea soup, but have been concerned about the potential for creating a clog in the system.  I imagine it would make the meat from the ham bone easy to remove in a much shorter amount of time, though.

 

[ea56]

Mom always used her Wear Ever Pressure cooker when she made soup of just about any kind. I haven’t owned a PC for over 20 years and really don’t miss having one.  

 

When you use a PC for anything that may kind of foam up, like dried beans, split peas or chicken soup its recommended to not fill it higher than 2/3’s to 3/4’s full as the foam can clog the pressure release valve and cause an explosion hazard if the valve is clogged and the pressure isn’t completely released prior to opening the top.  I believe this the origin of all those folklore stories of PC’s exploding.

 

I never had a problem with a PC exploding and neither did my Mom, and she used hers a least twice a month when I was growing up.

 

Eddie

 

[perc-o-prince]

I've not heard of adding baking soda

According to Cook's Kitchen, baking soda also softens cornmeal for polenta so it doesn't need the constant stirring.

I tried making baked beans from scratch a few times many years ago but they were always hard. I tried both the overnight soak and the "quick" method. Time to try again!! Nothing like good, homemade baked beans with chunks of long-cooked salt pork in there!

Chuck

 

[twintubdexter]

Ralph...

<span style="font-size: 14pt; color: #008000;">Christmas is coming. Buy your friend an electric pressure cooker. They're not expensive and you don't need one of those do-everything multi super pots. I overload mine all the time, an inch or more above the max fill line and never have any problems. Then too, it may be that your recent move to the high-rent district and that "Palace of Versailles" home you bought has made your pallet more discriminating. You probably use to be satisfied with Campbell's Chicken Noodle but now only vichyssoise will do.  </span>

 

[mikael3]

Supposedly, acid is the culprit in keeping beans hard, not salt.  I add salt when cooking dried beans and peas, and they always come out tender. 

 

Baking soda definitely softens beans and peas.  I  always soak chickpeas in water with a little soda, and then I boil them in fresh water with a little more soda. Old baked bean recipes call for the same treatment, but I only do it for chickpeas.

 

Too much soda messes up the flavor.  Use only 1/2 tsp for a whole pot of soup.