Simmering split peas smell bitter - why? Today while simmering split peas with a good meaty ham bone, the whole works smell so bitter. I'm wondering why. I love pea soup but haven't made it very often.

In the end it did taste fine but had a really bad smell like it was going to taste bitter. I added the onions carrots celery and garlic a bit later. I did have to use salt and that helped. Used 10c of water. It ended up fine... my husband had 3 bowls! I just thought it smelled off.
One of the first things that comes to mind is that you have some beans burned to the bottom of the pan. This is a common issue when cooking a large quantity of beans if they aren't stirred enough. Burnt food items omit a bitter flavor as well as smell.