Edamame Healthy Food Guide

Peak season: Summer though early fall

Bright-green edamame (soybeans) have been popular for centuries, appreciated for their sweet, mild and slightly “beany” flavor. Edamame were used as a vegetable in China as early as a few hundred years B.C. In Japan, edamame are often boiled in salty water still in their pods and served as bar food (the pods are inedible, but it’s fun to pop the beans out and eat them between sips of beer).

Edamame truly fits its “Miracle Bean” nickname. Not only does it contain all of the 9 essential amino acids, making it a complete protein, but it is used in food products from soy sauce to soy milk, and in everything from animal feed to ink.

While edamame are most often associated with Asian cuisine, they’re versatile in dishes from around the globe. They add bright color to a Southern succotash and take kindly to French flavors as well.

What you get

Versatile edamame is an excellent plant source of high-quality protein. In addition, edamame delivers fiber, some iron and the phytoestrogens daidizein and genistein, which are thought to have a wide range of health benefits for immune function, cardiac health and menopausal symptoms.

Tips

Shopping Tip: Look for fresh edamame at farmers’ markets or natural-foods stores. Edamame are most commonly found frozen in the natural-foods section of large supermarkets and natural-foods stores, sold both in and out of the “pods.” One 10-ounce bag of shelled beans contains about 2 cups.