Kings soup

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olwen, Apr 27, 9:38pm
I cooked a packet of King's minestrone soup in my new slow/pressure cooker the other day, on slow cook. The pulses were a bit hard so what I didn't eat at first I cooked some more. Some of it got cooked three times, and was left sitting as it cooled. In the very last bowl there were still pulses I found unpalatably hard. What has your experience been? Is King's soup just not edible now?
kay141, Apr 27, 10:01pm
I have never used Kings soups but have found that some slow cookers do not get hot enough for pulses.
hd07, Apr 27, 10:03pm
I've had the same experience with (yellow) split peas over the past few years. 'Back in the day' they used to break down quite quickly and make a lovely thick pea soup, but now they tend to stay hard no matter how long I cook them (and previously this has been for hours, to try and cook them down, but they still haven't). I actually googled this after the last time I cooked it, as I'm so frustrated with them (and unfortunately my supermarket only sells one brand) and apparently it can mean they are old. I'm not sure, but it's damn frustrating.
olwen, Apr 27, 10:07pm
Maybe I should pressure cook it, then turn it to slow cook.
rainrain1, Apr 27, 10:51pm
Try turning your cooker up. leave it long enough so that it is cooked properly.
cats5, Apr 27, 10:54pm
tasteless
rainrain1, Apr 27, 10:57pm
Add your own extras and make it tasty
datoofairy, Apr 27, 11:02pm
Hhmm, this is a concern. I have just bought 2 packets (for the first time in years) and put them on to simmer, with a few chicken carcasses, so I'm hoping my soup turns out nice but now I'm worried the lentils will be hard. King Old Fashioned soup was a staple over winter when I was a kid, I dont remember the lentils ever being hard.
olwen, Apr 27, 11:18pm
It may be that other varieties are fine. I have a packet of old fashioned here too. Was thinking I could cook up a big pot of soup and freeze if I don't eat it fast enough.
petal1955, Apr 27, 11:26pm
I use the Kings Soup mix esp Pea and Ham.but instead of doing it in the Slow Cooker.use the stock pot on the stove. you can boil it till its tender. and then the soup goes thick and I blitz half s it smooth and leave the other half chunky. Pretty Dam good with crusty bread by the fire on a cold winters night
kay141, Apr 27, 11:27pm
I live alone, cook a big pot of soup and freeze it in meal size portions. At the moment, I have chicken, pea and ham and beef with vegetable soups in the freezer.

None are made from packets but I can't see why they shouldn't be suitable to freeze.

BTW, I do the same with stews/casseroles in the winter. No point in cooking enough for just one meal.
fruitbat, Apr 27, 11:51pm
A lot of Kings Soups have flavour enhancers 627 and 631 in them.
I won't buy them because of that.

Plus all pulses and legumes should be well cooked before eating. Can cause gut problems if not cooked properly. Soft.
olwen, Apr 28, 12:01am
But some pulses for sale just won't cook soft. Either due to age, or maybe treatment. How do we avoid bad batches of pulses? They are just nasty otherwise.
datoofairy, Apr 28, 12:50am
Well I've just tried mine and its delicious. No hard bits, just lots of perfectly cooked pulses, lentils, barley, chicken and bacon. mmmmmmm yummo!
fruitbat, Apr 28, 12:57am
If you are unlucky and they won't cook properly, still hard. I would cut my losses and bin them. some legumes do need a lot of cooking to get them to the right consistency.
sarahb5, Apr 28, 2:20am
I won’t use them because they are too salty for me - if I need to bulk up my soup I cook some lentils or chickpeas and add them when they’re cooked
rainrain1, Apr 28, 3:43am
Sounds darn good !
fruitbat, Apr 28, 3:48am
I agree. salty and those flavour enhancers are a type of MSG I think. I always throw in a few chicken pieces or wings to add flavour and some tomato. makes it tasty.
buzzy110, Apr 28, 3:56am
This. I always treat any pulses that go into a dish separately. Sometimes they require soaking and the water changed at least once during the soak and then brought to the boil and the discarded. For split peas I also cook them separately before adding them to soup close to serving.

I also endorse kay141's post where she says that the temperature is not hot enough in a slow cooker to cook the pulses. This means it is more important, than ever, to pre-cook them first.
rainrain1, Apr 28, 8:24am
It's hot enough, and cooked enough if you turn it up and cook for long enough. nothing could be simpler, good grief. do the taste test! Soup is even better the next day. Give it another go girls!
jesse83, Apr 28, 12:13pm
hd07 - i have had the same problem with yellow split peas, cooked one lot for 2 days and still didn't soften them.
(always cook soup on stove top, not slow cooker)
Have found Pams yellow split peas will cook to soft, but other brands don't.

(edit to add: god knows what they are doing to the ones that won't cook, but i won't eat them)
datoofairy, Apr 28, 8:09pm
It was! It was almost a chowder it was so thick with chicken, bacon, barley etc. I used 4 chicken carcasses and all had heaps of meat on them. We had it with ciabatta bread, grilled with garlic butter and cheese. MMmmmmm. so good.
Its another appallingly cold, wet day here so I may make some roast pumpkin soup today. The fire is going so I might just sit a pot on top and let it simmer away there all day.
I love winter for its comfort food.
buzzy110, Apr 29, 12:06am
I don't know if this is what happens to the split peas like you cooked but irradiated pulses never soften when cooked. They stay hard and almost exactly like they were when uncooked or unsoaked.
jesse83, Apr 29, 7:00am
That's very interesting, thanks buzzy.
Yes, split peas i have cooked are exactly like that, pretty much as if they have never been soaked overnight, or cooked at all.
Was not aware that they 'irradiated' pulses, they obviously are not bothered that we can't cook them properly, or eat them.
Pams ones were fine, but haven't used them since last winter, hopefully they haven't nuked theirs too.
nauru, Apr 29, 7:16am
Do you pre-soak your pulses before using them?. I do this except for red lentils and don't have a problem. I don't use soup mixes as I find them too salty for my taste and they sometimes use enhancers in them so I prefer to mix my own pulses etc.