Kathleen Purvis| Standard-Times
Q: I've tried twice to make split pea soup. Both times, the peas would not get soft. Any ideas? Also, I would love information on how to find a ham bone for soup. I have used the bone from a spiral-sliced ham, but what if you don't have one?
A: Unlike meatier beans, such as dried pinto or white beans, there is no reason to soak split peas or lentils. Both are small, flat beans that will generally cook just fine without soaking first. The belief that beans can't be salted early in cooking also has been disproved in several test kitchens, so salt probably isn't the problem either.
If your split peas don't get soft, it's more likely they are old or were stored in a container that wasn't airtight. Even though they keep for quite a while, dried beans don't keep forever. If you buy them in a store that doesn't have high turnover in that kind of ingredient, they could have been old when you bought them. Health-food stores or health-focused supermarkets are usually the best places to buy dried beans and lentils, because they are so popular in vegetarian cooking.
On to the meat question: Since it is hard to go into a meat department and buy a bone these days, I often use smoked ham hocks, which are found in most supermarkets. The skin is tough, so make a few slits in each hock with a sharp knife. Cover the hocks with water, bring to a simmer, then cover the pot and let them simmer for an hour or so. Remove the hock and pick away any meat. Then you can use the cooking liquid to make a dandy split pea soup.
