RB and I love pea soup. The best pea soup we’ve ever had was made by a friend of mine. My Mom’s split pea soup leaves something to be desired. Lately I’ve been in the mood for it. I’ve never made it from scratch myself so I decided to try a mix I found in the grocery store.
Streit’s Split Pea Soup Mix comes in a 6 ounce box that cost me less than $2.00. Each box makes four 1 cup servings prepared.It’s very low in fat and has no cholesterol. It does have 550mg of sodium, or 23%, per serving which is high. The mix is kosher. While there are no ingredients containing gluten in it, the mix is made in a facility that processes wheat.
The instructions on the box are simple. Boil 4 cups of water. Add the bag containing the peas. Cover and simmer over low heat for 45 minutes. Add the contents of the seasoning bag. Simmer 15 minutes until the peas have turned to puree. That’s it.
Sounds like it’s easy and can’t be screwed up, right? Wrong.
I followed the instructions to the letter. Things were going well. Fifteen minutes into the simmer on low heat things went bad – the peas started to stick to the bottom of the pot and burn. I took them out, put them into another pot and added some hot water while I scraped the first pot out and put it into the sink to soak. I put the soup mix back onto low heat on the stove. At twenty five minutes the peas had broken down a bit. We like some ham in our pea soup so I threw in some ham chunks along with the seasoning. I stirred everything a few times and let it simmer for another fifteen minutes and took it off of the stove. It was clear things would not be getting any better.
The soup looked pretty good. Unfortunately I can’t say the same for the flavor. The peas never pureed completely so the soup was quite lumpy and grainy. You could also taste that it had burnt.
I won’t be buying this again and I don’t recommend it.
Fina
Sunday 26th of March 2023
This is the best Slip Peas soup mix I've had. However I have not been able to find it any where near me. Could you let me know where I can get it. Thanks
Jeff
Saturday 9th of June 2012
You need to use a pressure cooker and the Streits comes out thick and pureed. Mine comes out perfect every time.
valmg
Sunday 10th of June 2012
Thanks for the tip!
pat.navymom
Saturday 2nd of January 2010
Kosher has a different taste to many unfamiliary with the dietary recipes.
Nancy
Thursday 31st of December 2009
So sorry this didn't work for you! We've all been there and done that!
Because the soup is so thick, it does have a tendency to burn easily. Next time try cooking the split peas in a slow-cooker (crockpot). Also if you like the pureed texture, blend the cooked soup in your blender. I usually blend about 2 blender containers full of the soup so it is partly smooth and partly chunky. If you don't want to go to that much trouble, use your potato masher to mash the soup right inside the slow cooker. When you re-heat leftover soup you'll probably need to add water. I bet your next batch will be perfect!
Brenda
Wednesday 9th of February 2011
I agree. I made it in my slow cooker on high for 6 hours, added some chopped carrots and cubed ham, and it was delicious. The peas dissolved just fine and nothing burned.
Amanda
Thursday 31st of December 2009
I recommend that you try HamPeas brand pea soup. It comes in a bag in the bagged beans section.... it's my favorite!