Split peas, onions and weird gray stuff.

[femlow]

So I was cooking some yellow split peas with some onions, just in boiling water and some salt. I covered it, went away for a while, and when I came back to check on the pot there was weird gray substance on the inside sides of the pot, and a little in the middle of the peas. I was just wondering what this could be. At first I thought mold, but of course mold isn't going to grow in 40 minutes in a pot of boiling beans. It didnt smell funky or anything. but there was really quite a bit of it, and it was mostly on the insides of the pot where it was getting a lot of steam, and then in the middle, which I think might be because the lid (okay so its really a pie tin) was dripping steam that had condensed back into the pot. I have never encountered this before in my life and it kind of freaked me out, so I was just wondering what this could be, or if anyone else has had any experience with weird grey stuff with their peas and onions?

I have never cooked yellow split peas before, but this just seems a strange thing for them to cause. And I have cooked a ton with onion and have never encountered this before. And I'm pretty sure this wasn't just from the salt or water. Anyone have ideas?

 

[jpmcgrew]

I have had that happen with lentils and sometimes beans its a harmless foam.Just skim it off and you will be fine.Dont know what causes it

 

[FryBoy]

Peas, beans, and lentils always produce this foamy gunk when they start to boil. It's harmless. Either scrape it off and discard it or stir it back into the pot.

 

[VeraBlue]

It's just residual starch....spoon it off or wait for it to boil away.

 

[karadekoolaid]

So I was cooking some yellow split peas with some onions, just in boiling water and some salt. I covered it, went away for a while, and when I came back to check on the pot there was weird gray substance on the inside sides of the pot... Anyone have ideas?

Happens all the time. It could be dust from the beans, it might be something else. Just dump it. It won't hurt you, that's for certain - I've been eating those things for 30 years!

 

[TATTRAT]

Not only starch, but protiens too...kinda like seafoam.

 

[femlow]

Good to know. I thought it might be from the peas but I had never seen that before when cooking legumes, and it wasnt like starch you would get from a potato, or like the frothe from rice that hasnt been washed... so I just wanted to make sure it wasnt some weird alien bacteria I should be concerned about. I did just scrape it off the sides and stir in what was in the middle (we are not food wasters in my family, and especially not when we are doing the broke college student thing). Its good to know I wont be sick in an hour from it.

I appreciate your help.

fem

 

[Shunka]

Yup, sounds like bean-foam, as my kids used to call it!!

 

[kitchenelf]

The more of the gunk you spoon off and out of the pot the clearer your finished product will be. You will notice the same thing if you cook homemade chicken stock - or other stocks.

 

[femlow]

It wasn't really a spoon off thing so much as it was a scrape off thing. Like a residue from the steam. I wasnt really worried about clarity since i was going for a sort of pea mush (which I very much accomplished). I am used to regular foaminess that shows up on rice and potatoes and things, but this was definately different. Its kind of hard to describe, but residue is pretty close I think, going up over an inch and a half above the water line (it didnt boil hard enough to ever get that high) and thick and quite a bit of it (probably near a tablespoon all together, though maybe not quite, for about half a pound of peas and 1 1/2 onions)... Definately not the same as rice or potato foam.