I had a similar experience a long time ago, with dry beans. Since then, I read, don't put salt on with the beans. Let them cook first. Something about the salt keeping them from getting soft.

Grainlady, can you help with this?

Moni

A few things can affect peas/beans. Salt, and acids (vinegar, lemon juice etc...,) added before they are done both can make your peas stay a bit tough. I've never used a crock pot, but I'm sure someone can help with that. One trick to soften beans is to add just a touch, and I do mean a touch, of baking soda.

If you have time, post the recipe and that would give us more information. If you can't post or link the entire recipe, how much liquid did you add at the start of the recipe? That may be the problem.

-Grainlady

I've never made pea soup in a crockpot, but would also suspect insufficient liquid. FWIW, my stovetop pea soup usually has to simmer 1.25 hours or so before the peas are no longer hard/firm.

I used maybe 1 pound of pre-cooked and very salty ham, one pound of dried split peas and 8 cups of water.

For the prep, I sorted and washed the peas, put them in my crock pot (which is working, I just made sesame chicken two nights ago and it was fine), added the ham and 8 cups of hot water. I turned the crock pot to low and stirred every couple of hours. I noticed at dinnertime that the soup still looked clear like water, none of the creamy goodness that I associate with split pea soup and indeed they were still hard. So I left them cooking all night. This morning, some of the peas were cooked down and had split, but there are still plenty of hard ones. They've been cooking for 24 hours and the ham is almost completely disintegrated.

I do cook dried pintos, kidneys and black beans, but always soak them overnight before cooking. The pea package directions stated that there was no need to soak them :-)

Looks like the wild things in the woods will be enjoying some half cooked split pea soup.

Thank you all!

I checked out a new Italian market in town today and bought some ham ends to make soup. lol!

I don't think the salty ham would cause the problem because I often add (salty) bouillon when I start my pea soup.

Was your water cold? grainlady, does the temp of the liquid make a difference? I always add cold water to soups. :p

PS: I never soak dried peas, although I have a bag of yellow peas that could use it. lol!

PK, put the mess into a pot and bring it to a boil then reduce to a healthy simmer. You should have what you want 30 minutes later. I can't speak to whether it will be too salty or not. If still lumpy, try a stick blender. After all that time on heat, you'll probably need to correct seasoning ( not salt, but pepper, garlic, onion, or whatever you like)

Perhaps the problem is not enough heat but maybe the peas were not cooperative for other reasons.

Edited to add - As below comments say, I agree that more water may be necessary if it's too thick.

If the peas were OLD (and that can be on the store shelves), that will affect their ability to soften. Use a stick blender, and then cook with a little more water for 1/2 hour. It will taste great and be fully pureed.

I think it might have been too little liquid, moreover, too little time. Split peas have this sort of threshold they pass whereby suddenly, they all gently yield their dried form and dissolve into and offer their true potential of goodness.

I always soak any dry beans or peas over night before using in a crockpot or slow cooker. If I forgot to do that I do the quick soak method, bring a pot of water to boil add dry peas turn off heat, leave pot on stove and cover the pot. Wait about an hour to allow for the peas to soften up. Drain water and use the peas in the crockpot according to recipe.

I use salty ham in mine allthe time and they come out perfectly. They really do need to soak one of those methods for them to be right.

I don't use a slow cooker but I'll second the effectiveness of the quick soak method with dry beans and peas. When I do it I add the beans to the water and then bring it to a boil and let it boil a few minutes before turning it off. An advantage of this approach with kidney beans and a few others is that these beans contain a heat-sensitive toxin that can cause sometimes serious GI distress (not just flatulence). The problem is more of concern with a slow cooker because many do not raise the cooking temperature high enough to destroy the toxin.

Kidney Bean Food Poisoning

Peas and dried beans require high temperature to break down and soften, maybe higher than you pot supplied. For example, altitude will affect cooking time because water boils at lower temperature at altitude. Its almost impractical to cook beans in the Rocky mountains of Colorado unless a pressure vessel is used. Below 700 ft altitude, adding 5 psi with a pressure cooker significantly lessens cooking time. Its the increase in temperature that shortens cook time.

I agree about the high temp being needed. I do cook split pea soup in my crock pot and turn it to auto every time......that brings it to a boil, then reduces the heat to a low simmer automatically. After 8 hours...or longer....I'd have the beginnings of dinner when I got home from work. :0) YUM! I add a ton of seasoning salt to mine.

After cooking on low for 30 hours, they were delicious! Next time, I'll use a higher temp and add some other veggies!

OMG - 30-hours!

1. How full was your cooker? Don't fill a slow-cooker more than 1/2-3/4 full.

2. As far as hot water VS cold water - I found recipes for split pea soup that use both, but when I use a slow-cooker I preheat the cooker and add hot liquids, if possible. Preheating the crock before adding ingredients or cooking on the highest setting for the first hour will ensure a rapid heat start. Either will shorten the time foods are in the temperature danger zone.

3. You may want to test the actual temperature of your slow-cooker to see if you have a temperature problem.

How to do a simple water test: Place 4 quarts of room temperature water in your slow cooker, cover, and cook on high (or low) for six hours, then measure the temperature of the water with an instant-read thermometer. It should register between 170-280°F to yield the best results. If yours runs hotter or colder, be ready to check the food for doneness either earlier or later than our suggested cook times. (You may also want to do this on each setting to be sure that both are on target.)

-Grainlady

I was going to recommend the same thing snidely did.. Transfer everything to a pot and cook on stove. When soft, use a stick blender. Anything was worth a try before throwing out. Glad you didn't. Pea soup is on my must make list while the cooler temps prevail. We don't eat much ham...I love it, DH doesn't so I buy ham hocks.