I cooked split pea soup with a ham bone last night for dinner. I didn't soak the split peas. They were tender in about 1 1/2 hours. I try to soak navy beans, pinto, black, etc if I think of it the night before. But I often cook beans without having soaked them first and haven't had a problem with them being hard. They just take a little longer to cook than soaked beans.

Ann

Don't add sugar or acid (vinegar) until your beans are well softened.

Apparently sugar and acid will prevent beans from softening.

If the split peas or beans are old they take forever to soften & may never cook as creamy as you'd like. If you've had them for ages...maybe, it's a good time to purchase new? Also, if your retailer doesn't have a good turnover they could be old.

I agree with Ann. Split peas don't need to be soaked. They cook quickly on a slow simmer. I soak dried beans overnight but have, sometimes, forgotten & just put them at a hard boil for 2 minutes, turned off the heat, & then let them sit for a couple hours before proceeding. That has always worked equally well to overnight soaking.

/tricia

Split peas (nor lentils) require soaking.

Most dried beans do, though. But I no longer use the conventional method of overnight soaking.

I clean my beans and place them in a pot with a couple of inches of water over them. I bring the pot to a boil and boil for 1-2 minutes. Then I shut it down to the lowest simmer and cook on low for 1 hour.

I drain the liquid (and save it) and set the beans aside.

I wipe the pot and saute some onions, garlic, bacon, ham hocks or whatever. I throw the beans back into the pot with my goodies, cover it all with low-salt stock and/or at least a little of the bean liquid (no salt) and cook for about another 1-1/2 hours. Depending on the size of the beans (and maybe their age?), they might be tender in 1 to 2 hours.

Split peas, no soaking, will also take about 1-2 hours to soften nicely.

I, personally, like my beans and peas oh-so "al dente".

Joe

That wasn't good grammara.

I meant to say that split peas (and lentils) do NOT require soaking.

Thank you and please forgive me for being cryptic, esoteric and, heaven forbid, nebulous.

Joe

And, of course, grammara was that giant squid that ate Tokyo.

I am tossing my keyborad into the trashcan.

Joe

Joe, get one of those keybroads that spells better.

I use your method, otherwise known as the quick soak method. It's necessary in my case due to my failure to plan ahead. Beans which have been given the one hour hot soak cook up in not much more than an hour.

Jim

I thank everyone for their comments. I get my split peas bulk from the co-op. Maybe they sit around too long in that bin. I think I will try getting a package from the grocery store to see if it makes a difference.

Mmmm, how I love split pea soup.

Jim:

"keybroads"????!!!!!

I won't touch that one.

Maybe you need one of them good-spelling keyBOARDS, as well.

Sorry to hijack your thread carmellina. I'm done (I hope).

Joe

I was just going to ask Jim where in the world he found a key "broad". (grin) Especially one who was good at spelling.

Joe, that's why I love this place, the slips and mistakes are wonderful. My favorite was "puppy seeds", I think, or the person who made "crap cakes". LOLOL

I never soak split peas, and they get nearly dissolved in a couple of hours, making a creamy texture that I like immensely.

I never soak beans because I never think that far ahead, and was always told not to add sugar or vinegar before cooking dried beans. Old/stale beans do take a long time to get soft. I find that I cook beans in the crockpot all day, 8-10 hours, and they're always soft, LOL. Still, they're ready when I come home from work and that's a very good thing for me.

So now I want a pot of beans and some cornbread....or maybe split pea soup instead.

Annie

BTW, hold the salt until the beans are nearly done too.

And, when you add water during cooking, use boiling water, not cold water.

Beans are a simple food but attention to details can make them really, really good.

Jim

I find cooking the beans without soaking first with the ham bone makes a much tastier dish. When you soak first, the beans soak up plain water instead of the ham bone juice. Yes, it takes longer, but makes a huge difference, IMHO.

Yum. Y'all have made me hungry, and I remember that I have a good, meaty ham bone in the freezer. Now all I have to do is decide which type of beans to use. Ooh, I have some kale too...maybe a pot of white beans & kale!

Carmellia - Good reasons have been provided here as to why your beans might be hard after being cooked but I wanted to point out another reason - I notice that you live in Minnesota. I'm wondering if you live at a high altitude?

I do not but on other cooking forums, it is always pointed out that if you live at a high altitude and want to cook beans to proper doneness, you should consider getting a pressure cooker. I'm sure you can do a search on google and find similar advice (if you in fact live at a high altitude).