How to split peas and favas?

I want to make split peas and split favas from pulses I grow in my garden.  

This weekend I've been experimenting with cooking the different pulses I grew last year.  I want to know which ones I like best so I can dedicate the most space to them in the garden.

To my surprise, I don't like most of them!  

How is this?  I love the beans and split peas I've been cooking this last year or so - inspired by the wonderful recommendations in this thread.  But the stuff from my own garden is inedible to me.  



The big problem I'm having is the skins.  They taste bitter.  It's a flavour I associate with gastric distress - I'm pretty sure there is something in this bitter taste that is an allergen for me.  The darker the colour of the skin, the more bitter they taste.  Some of the warm weather beans are fine, but the peas and favas are my biggest problem.  Without the skins, they are delicious.  With the skins, I can't eat them.


My solution - split the peas.

Split peas don't have skins.  There are also split favas I can buy in the shop.  These don't have skins either.  

A google on how to split peas gave me this answer:

 once dried and their skins removed peas split naturally, simple as that.

whole foods agrees:

 Once they are dried and the skins removed, they split naturally.

and wiki says:

The peas are round when harvested, with an outer skin. The peas are dried and the dull-coloured outer skin of the pea removed, then split in half by hand or by machine at the natural split in the seed's cotyledon.

Somehow I need to get the skin off those peas and then they will naturally split. Which brings us back to the beginning: how do I get the skins off these peas?

I've tried this mill and it manages to lightly crush the peas.  But the skin still clings firmly to the peas.



What shall I try next?

Has anyone here split peas before?  What's the trick to them?

I could find no directions for how to peel dried favas while dry, but apparently the skins can be removed after soaking overnight, just as one removes the skins from fresh favas.

https://mincedblog.com/2014/04/23/byssara-dried-fava-bean-puree/

I can't get the skins of my favas to loosen with soaking.  I've tried with different aged dried favas, different kinds, and different soaking times.  No luck.

What's the trick to it?  And will that trick work for peas?

Sideways to your actual question - how long are the peas left off the vine before you process them? Something I learned recently is that non-sweet peas turn bitter if harvested and then sit around too long before being processed. It could be the same for the fava beans? Maybe try cutting them and then doing it within an hour of harvest and see if that helps at all? That's what works with peas.

Marisol Dunham wrote:Sideways to your actual question - how long are the peas left off the vine before you process them? Something I learned recently is that non-sweet peas turn bitter if harvested and then sit around too long before being processed. It could be the same for the fava beans? Maybe try cutting them and then doing it within an hour of harvest and see if that helps at all? That's what works with peas.

This makes a lot of sense for fresh peas and beans - the sooner we eat them, the sweeter they are.  After the vegetable is picked, the sugars start to convert to starch.  However, when the seeds are dried into pulses, we want this conversion to happen otherwise, the seeds wouldn't be shelf stable.  

My peas and favas are dried in the usual way.  They dry as the plant dies back, then are harvested and dried some more before being threshed, winnowed and stored.  I finished processing them about 6 months ago, so they are still considered 'fresh'.  As pulses (dry bean or pea) are stored, they slowly deteriorate.  most writers consider a pulse fresh if it's used within 12 months of finishing drying, but for me, I think within 2 years is quite acceptable.  Most store-bought pulses in North America are MUCH older than that.  


Could I peel the pulses before I dry them?  This is an interesting idea.  I'm not sure how to peel them without bruising the seed - thus making it less shelf stable when dry.   I can't see any way to do this efficiently when the seeds are fresh that won't damage the pulse.

I made the mistake of purchasing a large bag of whole dried peas. To me, 5 pounds is a large bag.  I had to pre-cook them before I could peel the skins off by hand. I rolled and scrubbed them around in my hands under the water in the pot, also tried to roll them around on a towel- sloughing off the skins and then pouring off the floating skins from the top of the water until I finished the batch of 2 cups.  That was enough for me! I decided then that for all that effort it would be worth it for me to buy them already split. Since then I have been sprouting them in my chicken feed. They are also excellent grown to 6" size and then harvested for salads. I wonder if the skins are removed before the drying process. I wonder if they are steamed before they are split and dried.

http://www.thekitchn.com/the-easiest-way-to-peel-fava-beans-tips-from-the-kitchn-203867

Try this link on removing skins from Fava beans

Gerald Griffin wrote:http://www.thekitchn.com/the-easiest-way-to-peel-fava-beans-tips-from-the-kitchn-203867

Try this link on removing skins from Fava beans

Neat link.

It does seem to be for fresh favas though.  I'm looking for ways to skin my pulses, aka, dry beans and peas.  

Any luck finding a link for skinning dry favas?

Meg Keeney wrote: I wonder if they are steamed before they are split and dried.

I wondered this too.  Could they be partly cooked or steamed?

Looking at the commercial machines, they are split and then bagged right away.  If we cooked or steamed them, then they would need to be re-dried before bagging.  

I think they must be using a mechanical process.

The Indian grocery store has a lot of split pulses: chickpeas, peas, lentils and occasionally favas.  I wonder if splitting peas is a tradition in that part of the world - if so, how do they do it?

I wonder if you could still use the freezer. Try soaking the favas and then freezing them. Pull the frozen beans out and then let them start to defrost. Then rub the skins off while the interior is still harder.

I think the words to search for are "pulse milling" and "pulse dehulling".  Playing around with them, I found this site:

http://vikaspedia.in/agriculture/post-harvest-technologies/technologies-for-agri-horti-crops/post-harvest-management-of-pulses/milling-of-pulses#section-24

Probably still not enough info, but it sounds as if, after drying, there is usually a soaking and redrying step before the mechanical dehulling/splitting.  

searching for small scale pulses processing I mostly returned hits for areas where beans/peas are an important part of the diet. This Indian link is for a small machine that removes the skin with an emery roller. I didn't find much on any scale smaller, which makes me think that people take their harvest to a local with a small machine. http://www.jasenterprise.com/emery-roller-machine.html#emery_roller_husk_remover

Skins loosen really nicely with minimal sprouting; would that meet your taste requirements or is the flavour of sprouted peas too weird?

Hi,

Split peas are derived of pigeon peas (Cajanus cajan).  These are the split peas used for soup-making and for the Indian food dal...and they are actually a type of lentil  They don't have a skin.  Pigeon peas would easily be splt by putting them through the red grinder in your post - set just wide enough to crack the pea in two...rather than crushing it.

Gary

Lina Joana wrote:I think the words to search for are "pulse milling" and "pulse dehulling".  Playing around with them, I found this site:

http://vikaspedia.in/agriculture/post-harvest-technologies/technologies-for-agri-horti-crops/post-harvest-management-of-pulses/milling-of-pulses#section-24

Probably still not enough info, but it sounds as if, after drying, there is usually a soaking and redrying step before the mechanical dehulling/splitting.  

I always wondered how they got nice smooth split peas when pea seed is wrinkled.  It seems to be like getting bark off of tree trunks; It comes off easy when the sap layer between the bark and wood is moist but when dry it is glued down by the sugars in the sap.

In the 1950's when we wer growing a lot of peas we did not try to dry them; this si the method we used and I don't know where my mother got it, possibly from organic gardening or common folk lore. We picked the peas when the seeds were full and starchy but the pods were still green. We blanched them so the pods were soft but the peas were still firm. Then we ran the pods through the rollers of a wringer washing machine and the peas popped out of the pods. We then froze or caned the peas. The rest of the family ate them like that but we discovered that my little sister was decoating them when the house got a moldy smell and we found a pile of molding little empty pea shells in the cold air return under the window seat where she sat at the table.

The article detailed the lengthy process of splitting them well enough That I personally would choose to sprout them until the hulls come off.

Ah ha.  So I was wrong about doing it dry.  This is fascinating.  

Lina, thank you so much for giving me some search terms that work.  I knew someone would know how to look for the answer.

this link you gave above, when we scroll to the top, it talks a bit about home and cottange scale milling:

Home scale milling
This involves pounding of grains for dehusking by using a mortar and pestle after mixing with small quantity of water and drying in the sun for a few hours. Sun-drying after water application helps to loosen the husk from the cotyledons. In mortars, dehusking is achieved due to shearing action between pestle and grains, and abrasive effect between the grains. Once the pounding is done for several minutes, the husk gets detached from the grains. Winnowing separates husk and split cotyledons are separated from the whole dehusked and unhusked grains by manual sieving. The whole grains are again pounded for further dehusking and splitting. This technique of dehusking is generally adopted when small quantity i.e., up to 5 kg of pulses is to be dehusked. Dal yield by this process is quite low (50-60%) due to breakage and chipping of the edges of cotyledons.

Milling of pulses involves two major steps:
loosening of husk and
removal of husk and splitting into cotyledons with the help of suitable machine.
All kinds of pulses require some pre-milling treatment for ease of husk removal. However, processes and equipments for loosening of husk, separation of husk from cotyledons and its splitting differ from crop to crop, cultivar to cultivar and place to place. Dehusking is an age-old practice, which originated at home and later developed into a cottage industry and now has grown into a large-scale organized industry.

I knew you guys would have the solution.  I'm off to experiment.  I'll report back in a few days.

does this help?

Hal Hurst wrote:
does this help?

Brilliant!  You just put the biggest smile on my face.  Now, if only I could find an assistant.  

R Ranson wrote:

Hal Hurst wrote:
does this help?

Brilliant!  You just put the biggest smile on my face.  Now, if only I could find an assistant.  

Gave me an excuse to share this thread with my wife.

For those of you that DIDN'T grow up in Southern Calif, that was the logo of Pea Soup Anderson's, previously of Santa Nella.  My Dad's favorite oasis when driving to or from regions to the north. Now consumed by the press of newer businesses.

My latest attempt at splitting favas.

This is the fava stuff I buy in the shop.  I left the price tag on so you could see how crazy expensive it is.



In comparison, the same size bag of what could possibly be the best organic chickpeas in the whole wide world is $6.  These favas aren't even organic.  But what they are is quick to soak and even quicker to cook.  Soaked then cook, we have fava paste in about 20 minutes.  More importantly, they make amazing falafels.  Here's a close-up for you:



Nice, eh?  Fairly big chunks of similar size, no dust, and best of all, no Skin!  

fava beans are so easy to grow, especially in our part of the world.  This year I lost my winter crop due to an unusually cold snap, but I'll be planting some more in Feb.  Being easy to grow and good for the soil, I have a lot of dry fava beans that the family is just not eating!  Instead, we hoard these split favas whenever they are in the shops (which isn't nearly often enough).

This is what I did.

Step one, I took some of last year's fava harvest and soaked them in water for 24 hours (changing the water about 4 times).  
Step two, try peeling some skin.  No way would it come off.  It's like shrinkwrap leather glued to the seed.
Step three, dry the favas in the dehydrator on low for about 24 hours (they probably only needed 8 ).
Step four,



Step five, inspect.



Not great, but a huge step in the right direction.  About 60% of the favas released their skins when crushed.  That's about 55% more than without the soaking.

This mill is difficult to adjust for something as big as fava beans.  I ended up having to take the adjuster cap thingy all the way off, and even then I still got a lot of dust.  Maybe lost 10% to dust and maybe 20% of what was left was too small.

The skins winnowed off easily - from the seeds they detached from.  Some of the seed bits still had the skins firmly attached.


All in all, a step in the right direction.  For my next attempt, I think I'll try peas.

Possible mill adjustments for better success: You can put washers between the arbor that clamps on the front and the ears that the wing nuts tighten down on.  Possibly get longer bolts if it needs to be wider.
(2) For dehulling you only need one set of teeth.  You can replace the toothed plate bolted to the hopper with a thin board. Madrona would work well I happened to have black walnut when I made mine.  For hulling rice I replaced both plates with wood. I have not done it yet but it should also work for barley and wheat.  For the peas and favas you will need the teeth on one side to cut into the hull and split the seed but with teeth only on one side there should be less dust from the teeth grinding on the split seed.

Looking at different ways to make tempeh, I stumbled across a homemade soy bean splitter/huller.

http://makethebesttempeh.org/splitting-and-de-hulling-or.html

I've seen a video on YouTube by engineer Don Brill showing him hulling dried field peas (Pisum sativum) using an impact huller he designed. Unfortunately, an impact huller of the size shown in the video doesn't look practical for use on a small homestead scale. I'm wondering if I could just use a friction huller on dried peas since many split pea varieties have round seeds.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gvbXXQIkajA

We cook up whole dry "soup" peas and the hulls come off and float to the top of the water where they can be skimmed off with a slotted spoon or fork. Dry soup peas are quite round, not wrinkled like peas for shelling or snap/snow peas. The cooked soup peas can be used whole or blended for a creamy soup base or to make hummus (we use Amplissimo Victoria peas as a garbanzo substitute).

I wonder if partly sprouting the peas would make it easier to get the skins off?

I do not deny that sprouting peas may make the seed coat easier to rinse off, but I have not yet tried this technique yet nor do I know if pea or fava bean sprouts still need to be cooked. I will do further reading.

Meanwhile, I spent some time browsing on how to remove the seed coat from legumes with bitter skins and I learned from a journal article that the traditional method for removing the skin from cowpeas (Vigna unguiculata) involves soaking the beans for 2 to 10 minutes in lukewarm water and rubbing the softened seed coat off between bare hands. I will spend some further time reading, but I suspect a similar process was historically used to remove the seed coat from dried garden peas (Pisum sativum), vetch (Vicia sativa), and fava beans (Vicia faba). The link to the journal article is at the bottom of this post. It appears that the author was attempting to find a method of mechanizing this traditional process with a friction dehuller.
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/305477948_Design_Fabrication_and_Testing_of_a_Wet_Legume_Dehulling_Machine

So far, this seems to be the best article I've found on the processing methods traditionally used to remove the hulls from legumes in India. Unfortunately, this journal article is only a critical appraisal of available methods used to dehull legumes and not a detailed description of the processes involved:
https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/Methods-for-dehulling-of-pulses%3A-A-critical-Singh/5211d3d9456c10fbe55c9307c661bf0c5a464c87

I've done further reading on the traditional processes involved in dehulling peas, and I have confirmed my suspicions that the traditional method of dehulling peas involves soaking the peas for a given period of time to soften the seed coat; drying the peas outdoors or in a food dehydrator; and the rubbing the seed coat off with a rotary quern or mortar and pestle. If the legumes have an especially tough seed coat, shocking the seeds in nearly boiling water may help the seed coat crack and better absorb water. I have not tested the process out yet, but I plan to try this method during this growing season to make sure the method works. I found this method mentioned in the following journal article, but unfortunately, the article is paywalled to non-subscribers☹️️.
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/279363365_Dehulling_and_Splitting_Pulses

I had a thought. Has anyone tried nixtamalizing peas or beans?

Nixtamalization causes corn to shed its skin. According to Wikipedia it does the same with other grains. But the only mention I could find of it being done with legumes is an abstract of a study done using black beans. It doesn't say if the beans shed their skins during the process, although I haven't paid the fee to read the entire paper on it. The abstract does indicate that it improved the nutritional content of the beans considerably, although that varied with the type of alkali used.

If it does to peas what it does to corn, this could simplify the process considerably!

This link seems great for getting the skin(or “shell”) off of individual peas, and it has a video of them doing it. It comes after they remove the peas from the pods: https://www.kitchenstories.com/en/recipes/how-to-shell-peas

“To make them more digestible and tender, you can also remove the shells of each single pea: Blanch peas in a pot with simmering water for approx. 1 – 2 min. before submerging them in an ice bath. Now you can slip off the outer skin with a knife and use peas as desired.”