Split peas (green, dried)

[Orbit]

Is there any cooking tip to lessen the gas problem when making split pea soup? Or is this inevitable?

[Okanagancook]

Yes, give them a really good wash in four changes of water then soak them overnight.  Wash, wash again before cooking.  This reduces phytates which reduce enzyme activity in the gut which inhibits digestion and increases the production of gas further down.

 

[Lisa Shock]

Beano used to make a liquid you could add, I guess it's no longer on the market. You can still take their tablets, they are an enzyme.

[Chimayo Joe]

Epazote supposedly helps with that.  I would think that it shouldn't be too difficult to find in New Mexico. You might give it a try if you are okay with the flavor.  Legumes are a big part of the way I eat.  I guess I've adapted because I don't have gas problems.  Dunno if epazote really helps or not.  I've never cooked with it.

[Thanks for the Crepes]

I also eat a lot of legumes and don't usually have problems with gas either. I don't presoak split peas or lentils because they cook so quickly without that step, but for larger beans, I do soak overnight. As @Okanagancooksaid, washing them well and draining off the soaking liquid does help to get rid of some indigestibles that are soluble in water.

 

I did get a gift  of some mixed beans in a pretty glass jar with fabric edged with lace and tied on with a ribbon one year for Christmas. So attractive and thoughtful, but both me and my current partner were so overwhelmed with ... well, you know, that we agreed that we would throw out the remaining soup and the beans it was made from. There were many varieties of beans in that mix, so I couldn't tell you what the problem was. Never had a bit of that problem with split peas, but if you have, the soak and rinse, repeat, repeat, repeat will probably help.

 

I'll say this about split pea soup, though. I always like it better the next day after resting in the fridge. It thickens and homogenizes, so I try to make it a day ahead. 

[TdeV]

I'm reading a couple of books about beans now. One of them says that if you eat beans regularly, the gas problem goes away. I must say that's my experience

[Nancy in Pátzcuaro]

If you live in México you eat a lot of beans, so the gas problem gets resolved by virtue of regular consumption. Because the beans are so fresh I've never found that soaking them is necessary. I just pop them in my rustic clay bean pot and let them simmer away on the stove for a while until they're done. Black beans, garbanzos, flor de mayo, junio, peruanos, lentils--I'm forgetting a couple others--all have their own particular flavor. I like to remove the seeds from an ancho or pasilla chile, tear it into pieces, and add it with a couple of whole peeled garlic cloves. The chile adds flavor without heat. No salt--I add that later when I use them.

 

There's nothing I like better than a bowl of split pea soup that's been cooked with a ham hock on a cold day. But alas--no split peas here, and no ham hock.

 

Nancy in Pátzcuaro