Ode to Edamame

Freshly picked edamame

Cooked edamame

I first tried edamame at a sushi restaurant and fell in love with it! In general, I love vegetables, but edamame is particularly fun because you get to pop the beans out of the pod and into your mouth. 

In the last few weeks, we have harvested several bowls full of edamame and it is great! I was worried that we wouldn't be able to harvest any edamame this year, because I found out that deer have the same affinity toward edamame as I do. Luckily, the deer were kind enough to share and they didn't eat all of our edamame! Thanks deer!

In Japan, edamame is a popular snack food.  In fact, edamame is the Japanese word for soybean, but it was only recently that America come to learn about the wonders of edamame. It seems funny to me that I hadn't heard of edamame earlier in my life because Missouri and Illinois are filled with soybean fields; however, I just read that approximately 85% of the world's soybean crop is processed into vegetable oil and soybean meal, which is used for livestock feed.

 Edamame are basically baby soybeans. They’re picked when they’re immature and fill about 80% of their pod, which means that they’re still plump and green and relatively sweet.

I do want to note that I did buy specific edamame seed from High Mowing Seed Company. I bought the Organic Shirofumi Edamame Soybean and it was described as "a gourmet edamame soybean known for exceptionally sweet, nutty flavor and smooth texture."


Not only does it have a great taste, but edamame is super easy to prepare. Fresh or frozen, all you need to do is boil them for 5 minutes, drain, and then sprinkle with salt. 

Lastly, edamame has many health benefits. They are packed with protein, low in carbs and calories, and are generally thought to be a heart-healthy food because it has the good kinds of fat and is high in fiber.  Edamame is also a good source of folate, calcium, vitamin K.