Split Pea Soup Recipe
Boston Cooking School, 1880s

1 cup dried split peas
3 pints cold water
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon flour
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon white pepper

Pick over and wash peas. Soak overnight, or for several hours in cold water. Put them on to boil in three pints of fresh cold water, and let them simmer until dissolved, adding enough more water as it boils away, to keep three pints of liquid in the kettle. Keep it well scraped from the sides of the kettle. When soft, rub through a strainer and put on to boil again. Add either water, stock, milk, or cream to make the consistency you wish. It should be more like a puree than a soup. Cook one large tablespoon of butter and one of flour together, and add to the strained soup when boiling. Add the salt and pepper, and when it has simmered ten minutes, serve at once with fried dice of bread.

This is delicious made in this simple way. It must always be strained, and thickened with flour and butter, or it will separate when it cools. It will be smooth, perfectly free from grease; and those who like the natural taste of peas prefer it to any other way of cooking.