Green Pea Soup

[Stephen Tashiro]

What would green pea soup taste like if it were made from fresh ingredients?

Usually a post about a commercial food will get replies to the effect: "You don't know what real food is like. Why I make it every week from fresh ingredients."

Every now and then I like to eat a bowl of Cambell's green pea soup -prepared the way all Cambells soups should be prepared, which is to say you ignore the directions on the can about adding water and just dump the contents of a can into bowl and heat it. However, I don't like green peas. I don't like them the way that mother used to cook them ( overcooked in the southern style and smothered in magarine) or and I don't like them the way that one "ought" to cook them. I can tolerate them as a minor ingredient in salads.

Would green pea soup made from fresh peas taste like the soup I like or would it taste like the peas I don't like. (I suppose green peas are often from frozen green peas. I wonder if fresh green peas would taste even worse.)

[Bill ThompsonNM]

Unfortunately, I've never had green pea soup from fresh peas, but its interesting how much different fresh peas, frozen peas and canned peas taste, so it's hard to extrapolate. I have eaten many a bowl of Campbell's green pea soup, though and would gave to comment its way better with coarse dried red chile flakes sprinkled on top!

[Steve Rozmiarek]

Green pea soup is actually made from dried green peas. I'd be happy to send you some the instant we harvest them in July. Just guessing that the green peas you have eaten if they went through normal channels were probably a 1/2 to 1 year old or so, but because they are a dried legume like dry beans, I bet the fresh ones taste the same.

[Stephen Cherry]

As Steve says, pea soup is made from dried peas. I just use goya brand.

But, it all starts with a ham bone with a little ham on it, boil that for a while with a little onion, carrot celery. Add the peas later and boil some more. A little salt (hams already got some) and pepper. It takes just a few active minutes to prepare.

Made from all good stuff, it can't help but be good. Personally, I can't stomach canned soup.

[Patrick McCarthy]

dried green peas. I was never a fan of peas or soup . . BUT my wife started making split green pea soup last year and it is excellent; she adds 1 and 1/2 teaspoons of curry powder. Sounded weird to me, but it is wonderful.

[Art Mulder]

As Steve says, pea soup is made from dried peas. I just use goya brand.

But, it all starts with a ham bone with a little ham on it, boil that for a while with a little onion, carrot celery. Add the peas later and boil some more. A little salt (hams already got some) and pepper. It takes just a few active minutes to prepare.

Made from all good stuff, it can't help but be good. Personally, I can't stomach canned soup.

+1 with variation....

Put the ham bone in a slow cooker. Add some chunks of ham too, if the bone doesn't have enough on it. Water. Some salt. dried split green peas.
I put in chopped leeks instead of onion. LONG slow cooking gives you that thick stand-up-your-spoon in it with the ham taste.

Oh, and it does NOT tast the same as simple boiled peas.

Here, I dug it up:

1 Hambone with meat on it (or cut upsome ham)
5 Cups Water
1-1/2 Cups Dried Split Peas
1/2 Cup Frozen/chopped Leeks (white bits, not the green tops)
1 Carrot (chopped or shredded)
2 Celery Stocks (chopped)
1/2 tsp Salt
1/2 tsp Pepper




10 hrs in the slow cooker on low

[ray hampton]

are you talking about fresh baby peas ? most vegetables and fruit taste better if they are fresh and tender

[Stephen Cherry]

http://www.wegmans.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?productId=372612&storeId=10052&langId=-1

usually it's made with dried peas

[Steve Rozmiarek]

are you talking about fresh baby peas ? most vegetables and fruit taste better if they are fresh and tender

Ray, the peas these guys are including in the recipes and making me hungry, are a different plant then the snap peas that you eat green. Everything you ever wanted to know about these type of crops, called pulse crops in the industry, is here. http://www.pea-lentil.com/

BTW, Tim McGreevy, the CEO of this organization is quite a character.

[Fred Perreault]

+1 what Art said............

Up here in New England it us commonly called "split pea" soup: the bones from a recently enjoyed picnic or butt ham, diced garden veggies, commercial (ugh..!) dehydrated peas, a lot less salt than canned soups, herbed or spiced to taste, and some water. If you make a large batch, over a few days of continuous re-heating it will get thicker and on the last day, you may have to cut it with a knife.. :) It can be a very tasty and hearty meal with a slice of home made bread. Never made it with fresh shelled peas, and the sugar snap peas rarely make it from the garden to the kitchen.... BTW the sugar snaps are up about 2" already....Yum

[Steve Rozmiarek]

+1 what Art said............

commercial (ugh..!) dehydrated peas,

They are not dehydrated, they are just ripened on the plant. The whole plant matures and dries out after about 3 months growing time, then the combines pick them up. Commercial processes on these are to clean the dirt and plant matter out, split them (if desired) then bag. These are probably as close to natural as any food you can by. Yep, they have a commercial bag name on the bag, but that is how we get paid to grow them.

[ray hampton]

Ray, the peas these guys are including in the recipes and making me hungry, are a different plant then the snap peas that you eat green. Everything you ever wanted to know about these type of crops, called pulse crops in the industry, is here. http://www.pea-lentil.com/

BTW, Tim McGreevy, the CEO of this organization is quite a character.

everything that I want to know, peas may taste good but I prefer beans or peanuts, the word pea are bad enough