Fuzzy Beans: Edamame

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Edamame pods grow in pairs. As alike as two beans in a pod! My three edamame plants yielded a good snack for two—next year I’ll double the number. I might be a jack of all trades, but not a master of gardening. I put in more than a dozen seeds, but maybe the soil was too cold, or some little critter had a snack. If only I could ask Jack about his mighty beanstalk!

As a young toddler, my daughter always pointed to the first letter of her name displayed prominently over a local shopping mall. Arborland was Ann Arbor’s first mall, built in the early 1960’s. Its most notable feature was, and is, a tall illuminated sign with a giant letter “A” welcoming visitors to town. It was an open mall which featured Federal Department Store and Crowley’s.

photo courtesy of Courney from Two Straight Lines

An outside wall of the Montgomery Ward store was famous for its 7 foot by 40 foot tile mural with scenes from the Jack and the Beanstalk, designed by Louis G. Redstone. During the 1970s, Arborland was enclosed and the mural was still visible inside on the wall of Burlington Coat Factory. Little Tess was one of the many children who always took a look way, way up trying to see Jack climbing to the sky (the top of the mural was cut off by the ceiling). By the late 1990’s Arborland had lost it’s gloss and most of it’s tenants. A developer razed most of the structure, transforming it into a big-box cluster. O’Neil Construction owner, Joe O’Neil rescued the mural and you can see it now at Kerrytown.

Edamame (枝豆?) (English pronunciation: /ˌɛdəˈmɑːmeɪ/) Daizu in Japanese. Edamame, (Glycine max L.) are specialty varieties of soybeans harvested in the green stage. Also known as: vegetable-type soybeans, green vegetable soybeans, sweet beans, green soybeans, edible green soybeans, green vegetable soybeans, immature green soybeans, green immature soybeans, immature soybeans, garden soybeans, garden-type soybeans, garden soys, branch beans, ect.
To read a History of Edamame, Green Vegetable Soybeans, and Vegetable-Type Soybeans from 1275 to present visit this site.

Edamame can be used in salads, stir fry dishes, soups, and dips. But they are most fun to eat as fingerfood. Rinse the pods, boil water (salt it if you like), and cook for 3 to 5 minutes. Drain, and cool the pods on a cookie sheet. Sprinkle with a little salt. Eat. Using your thumb and forefinger, squeeze the cooked beans from their pod into your mouth and enjoy! (discard the pods)