Time to soak peas for soup. How to quickly cook peas: puree, for soup, without soaking

09.02.2024

Usually, all cookbooks advise soaking peas before cooking for only one purpose - to speed up their cooking. It would seem that today this stage can be completely omitted: modern pressure cookers, multicookers and other similar miracle equipment boil beans to a puree state in literally a matter of minutes. Nevertheless, even in these cases, pre-soaking the peas remains relevant! Especially when it is not necessary to turn the grains into puree, but it is desirable to preserve them whole. Soaking helps them retain their shape during cooking, protecting them from cracking.

How to soak peas before cooking?

Peas should be sorted, debris and impurities removed, and washed two to three times in cold water.
Pour cold water over the beans (two parts water to one part dry beans). The water temperature should be no higher than 15° to prevent souring, since even the weakest acidic environment slows down the cooking of peas, making them rough and tough. For the same reason, you should not add any acidic foods to it during cooking (until it becomes completely soft).
The grain should remain in the water until it is completely swollen. When the weight of the peas has doubled its dry weight, the soaking is complete. Depending on the type, variety, timing and storage conditions of the grain, this may take from 5 to 8 hours. Legumes that have been stored for more than eight months require longer soaking and take longer to cook than freshly harvested ones or those that have been stored for a short time. Also, wetter grains swell faster when soaked and cook faster than dry ones.
The remaining water after soaking must be drained, pour fresh cold water or broth (unsalted!) over the peas, cover with a lid and cook over low heat until the grains are completely softened. If necessary, dilute the contents of the pan only with boiling water so that the boiling in it is not interrupted; add salt at the very end of cooking.
Does not require pre-soaking:
- split split peas (most suitable for pureed soups and porridges);
- white peas (cook faster and better than their yellow and green counterparts).

Peas are contraindicated only for very young children and some sick people, but often even many quite healthy people are forced to deny themselves the pleasure of enjoying this healthy and tasty product. The reason for this is the protease inhibitors contained in legumes, which impair the digestion of vegetable protein with subsequent increased gas formation, due to which pea soups with porridges have gained the notorious fame of “musical”, falling into the category of “undesirable” dishes.

Soaking will again help to avoid these troubles:

add baking soda to the soaking water (2 teaspoons per 100 g of peas and one and a half liters of cold water);
after 8 hours, drain the water;
Rinse the peas well with cold water and start cooking.

However, for all its simplicity and apparent convenience, the effect of soda on peas is ambiguous: it speeds up the cooking process and softens the negative effects of inhibitors, but at the same time worsens the taste of the product and completely destroys the vitamin B1 contained in legumes, the amount of which is already reduced when heated.

Therefore, try to get by with simple soaking first: that alone may be quite enough.

And to prevent flatulence from split peas, which do not require pre-soaking at all, you can use another – hot – method:

rinse dry peas and cover with cold water;
bring to a boil;
drain this water;
and immediately pour fresh boiling water or boiling unsalted broth over the peas (the availability of which must be taken care of in advance so that the peas are not left without boiling water for a minute);
continue cooking as usual.

Also, additional intake of digestive enzymes during meals or activated charcoal after meals will help in the fight against “pea” gases. All of the above applies not only to soups, but also to any other dishes made from peas, beans and other legumes.

Many people love peas for their beneficial properties and taste, but due to the complexity of their preparation, they do not often cook porridges and soups with them, so in this article we will consider how long and how to properly cook peas in a saucepan and slow cooker so that they turn out tasty, did not burn and was completely cooked.

How long should you cook peas?

The cooking time for peas is greatly influenced by how the peas are soaked before cooking, as well as their age, variety, and the type used (whole or split). Let's look at how long it takes to cook peas:

How long does it take to cook peas in a saucepan with water? With soaking for 8-10 hours, whole peas need to be cooked for 1-1.5 hours, and crushed peas for 45-60 minutes; without soaking, split peas need to be cooked for 1-1.5 hours.
How long to cook peas in a slow cooker? In a slow cooker, peas are cooked for 1.5 hours with preliminary soaking.

Having found out how much time to cook peas, we will next consider how best to cook them so that the boiled peas turn out tasty, do not become too overcooked and do not burn during cooking.

How to properly cook peas in a saucepan?

For many, boiling peas in a saucepan is a difficult task, but in fact, if you know how to cook them correctly, the process will go quickly and in the end you will get delicious boiled peas, from which you can make a delicate, aromatic pea porridge. Let's look at how to cook peas so that they boil in the pan and are completely cooked:

Measure out the required amount of peas for cooking (for example, one glass).
Rinse the peas under running water using a colander or sieve.
Pour the washed peas into a deep bowl or pan and pour cold water so that it completely covers them and leave the peas to soak for 8-10 hours (you can do it overnight, but if the peas are soaked for more than 10 hours, it is better to put them in the refrigerator so that they did not start to ferment and did not turn sour).
After the peas have been steeped in water for the time indicated above, drain the water from them and rinse them several times with cold water.
Pour cold water into the pan in the proportion: 4 cups of water to 1 cup of dry peas (whole, split).
Bring the water to a boil over high heat and add the peas, washed after soaking, to the boiling water. You can also add a small piece of butter (or 1 tablespoon of sunflower oil) to make the peas cook faster.
After boiling the water in the pan again, reduce the heat so that the water does not boil too much and cook the peas over low heat until cooked (crushed 45-60 minutes, whole peas 1-1.5 hours). The pan does not need to be covered with a lid.
Towards the end of cooking, the peas should be tested to see if they are ready; if the water has already boiled away and the peas are not ready yet, you can add hot boiled water.
10 minutes before the end of cooking, you need to salt the peas (on average, 1 level teaspoon of salt per 1 cup of peas).

Note: when cooking peas, be sure to skim off the foam that forms on the surface of the water in the pan (using a tablespoon or slotted spoon).

How to cook peas in a slow cooker?

Using a multicooker to cook peas (pea porridge) can save your time, since in this case it is easier to cook peas than in a saucepan on the stove. Let's take a step-by-step look at how to cook peas in a slow cooker:

Measure out the required amount of peas for cooking.
We sort and wash the peas under running cold water.
Pour the washed peas into the slow cooker and add cold water in the ratio: 2 cups of water to 1 cup of peas. You can also immediately add a small piece of butter and salt to taste (1 level teaspoon of salt for one glass of peas).
We set the “Stew” mode in the multicooker, the cooking time for 1.5-2 hours (if the peas are whole, then set the cooking time for 2-2.5 hours) and press “Start”.
After the sound signal, you can add salt (if you did not add it at the beginning of cooking), mix the cooked peas thoroughly and leave them to brew for 10-15 minutes.

Note: to cook boiled pea porridge in a slow cooker, you can add more water at the beginning of cooking the peas and increase the cooking time by 10-15 minutes. And if you soak the peas for 6-8 hours before cooking in a slow cooker, they will cook 2 times faster.

Answers to popular questions on the topic of how to cook peas

What mode should you use to cook peas in a multicooker? In a multicooker, peas are most often cooked in the “Stew” mode, but you can also use the “Porridge” or “Grains” mode.
Why soak peas before cooking? Due to soaking, the peas will be softer after cooking, and the cooking time will also be significantly reduced.
Do I need to soak peas before cooking pea soup? As with cooking pea porridge, when cooking pea soup, it is better to soak the peas in advance.
How long should you soak peas before cooking (soup, porridge)? On average, peas are soaked for 8-10 hours (no more than 10 hours).
When to salt pea porridge when cooking? When cooking peas in a saucepan, it is better to salt them at the end of cooking (10 minutes before the end of cooking). In a slow cooker, you can add salt to the peas at the beginning of cooking.
How many times do peas expand when cooked? When cooked, peas increase in size by 2-4 times (depending on the type of peas chosen).
How to speed up cooking peas? To speed up the cooking of peas, it is better to soak them in cold water in advance, and sometimes add a little soda (half a teaspoon) during cooking.

In conclusion to the article, it can be noted that knowing how long and how to properly cook peas in a saucepan and slow cooker, you can easily quickly and tasty cook peas for soup or porridge. We leave our reviews and useful tips on how to boil peas in the comments to the article and share it on social networks if it was useful to you.

Any housewife knows that peas are soaked in water before cooking. This helps make the soup or porridge softer and more tender. However, not many people think of using baking soda to soak peas. This method was also used in the old days.

Recipe

If the beans do not soften within 2 hours, and you want to quickly make soft pea soup, then use this recipe:

Sort and rinse 250 g (glass) of peas;

Soak in two liters of water and place on the stove;

After boiling, add 1 tablespoon of soda;

Stir and remove from heat;

Cover with a lid and wait 30 minutes;

Drain the liquid, rinse the peas and add fresh water;

Add salt, put on medium heat and cook for another 20 minutes.

After cooking, add ground black pepper - it will give the dish a special aroma.

The result is boiled pea soup. The taste of the dish becomes richer when greens are added during the second cooking.

If you want soft pea porridge, then soak a glass of legumes in 1 liter of water. Do not forget to drain the water and soda - otherwise the dish will have an unnecessary aftertaste.

To make pea puree, use a masher and crush the beans until smooth.

So, the secret to turning dry peas into soft ones quickly is the proper use of baking soda.

How to quickly cook peas? This is precisely the difficult question that confronts cooks who open a cookbook for the first time. In this article, we will look in detail at all the methods of cooking this legume, and you will finally learn the secret of instant cooking. Cooking peas is an entire art, which can only be mastered by persistently studying the recommendations of experienced chefs and necessarily applying them in practice. This is exactly what we will do now. First, it is necessary to mention that peas can be found in different states: fresh, frozen, dry and canned. Of all these types, at the moment we will be interested in only two: dry and frozen.

How to quickly cook peas without losing their beneficial properties? It takes about 50 minutes to prepare split peas, but sometimes more depending on the variety. A whole one takes about 1 hour 30 minutes. It is clear that split peas will cook faster for you. All experienced cooks know a special rule: any legumes, including peas, must first be soaked in cold water overnight or for at least 3-4 hours. As you can see, this option takes quite a lot of time, so it’s not suitable for us, since we want to prepare the dish right away. How to quickly cook peas without soaking?

With added butter

The cooking process of peas can be shortened by adding butter during cooking (1-2 teaspoons). It is recommended to salt all legumes at the end of cooking.

With added soda

How to quickly cook peas in another way? There is another method: during the cooking process you need to add soda (0.5 teaspoon per 2 liters of water). And after a quarter of an hour, the dish is ready.

Some people soak peas for 1-2 hours. For 200 ml of water - 1 teaspoon of soda. Then it is thoroughly washed and boiled for only 30 minutes.

Many experienced housewives do not recommend using this recipe with the addition of soda, preferring the classic version or other quick cooking methods.

With the addition of cold water

How to quickly cook peas by adding cold water? Let's talk in more detail. Rinse the peas thoroughly under running cold water until it becomes completely transparent in the pan. Fill it with water until it is only lightly covered. Place on high heat and reduce after boiling. When evaporating, add cold water again so that it barely covers the peas. Repeat this procedure three times. The main condition is that the water in all cases must be very cold.

Recently, an unusual black pea has appeared on sale, which is distinguished by small dark seeds of an oblong rhombic shape. This variety is prepared in similar ways.

Vitamins and minerals found in peas

Peas are rich in various vitamins and minerals: B1, B3, B6, H (biotin), PP, magnesium, vanadium, potassium, copper, cobalt, boron, selenium, zinc, sulfur, molybdenum, iron, chromium, phosphorus, manganese, silicon. Unfortunately, due to the long cooking process, housewives do not always have the desire to “tinker” with it.