Tuesday, April 21

Soy joy

Grow your own edamame

I haven’t heard yet today, so please tell me: Are soybeans a miracle food or silent killer? Their reputation seems to change from minute to minute.

Regardless, I’m not giving up my edamame, that deliciously steamed, lightly salted, obviously addicting soybean snack. We go through a pound a day at my house, and that’s just with me and the dog living here. (We’re both middle-aged females who crave calcium, apparently — though I can’t exactly speak for the dog).

That’s an expensive snack habit if your dealer is the frozen-food section at the local grocery store, but you can easily grow your own. Plus, we all know that homegrown food is healthier for you, or at least kills you less while you’re waiting for science to make up its mind.

Not so exotic

Because most people only encounter edamame (pronounced ed-a-MAH-may) at Japanese restaurants, it may seem like mysterious manna that is outside the purview of the average home gardener. But just take a look out the window this summer while you drive around Kankakee County. If you don’t see a cornfield, then you are probably looking at soybeans.

Some differences exist, however, between those beans and the ones that you will want to grow for yourself. Soybeans are broadly classified as “vegetable” and “field” types. Vegetable types cook more easily, have a nutty flavor and better texture, plus they are higher in protein. All soybeans, though, are an excellent source of iron, calcium, phosphorus, and fiber, and a good source of vitamins B1, B2, B6, E and folic acid.

But beyond that, they’re just a legume, like a bush bean, and easily grown in any soil that supports other vegetables. Like regular beans, they are their own nitrogen factories, although dusting the seeds with an inoculant before planting will increase their ability to “fix” nitrogen from the air into the soil.

Harvest soybeans for edamame when the pods are filled out but not swollen and their bright-green color has begun to fade to a yellowish-green.

Varieties to grow

As with other vegetables, there are soybean varieties that are adapted to different regions, and Wannamaker Seeds, a specialty grower in South Carolina, recommends Midori Giant, Mojo Green and Sunrise for Illinois growing conditions.

My favorites are Beer Friend and Black Pearl, mainly because both of them reseed themselves in my garden when — not if — they don’t get harvested quickly enough.

Soybeans germinate best once the soil has warmed to 65 degrees, so do not rush planting. Mid-May is plenty early enough. While the plants are maturing, it is doubly important to avoid pesticides or any other toxins because they the outer pod is not discarded for cooking.

The time to harvest soybeans for edamame is when the pods are filled out but not swollen and their bright-green color has begun to fade to a yellowish-green. Wait any longer and the beans will begin their drying process.

How to cook edamame

Now that you have big, beautiful bowls of yellowish-green soybean pods, don’t be intimidated by the idea of cooking them. Bring some salted water to a boil, add the bean pods and presto! In 5 to 10 minutes you have edamame.

Just like with pasta, it’s easy to pick out a pod while they are boiling and taste for doneness. Traditionally, they are served “al dente,” on the raw side. If they are on the done side, the pods get cooked as well and slip off the rib with the seeds, which can be messy. But I have absentmindedly left a pot boiling until the smell of very-done edamame fills the house and, though the pods were near mush, we ate them anyway. (The pods taste just as good as the beans.) I’ve read that the pods are not edible, but that must have been decided by cooks more attentive than I am.

For seasoning, I use kosher salt in the cooking water and then sprinkle the boiled pods with a little more salt plus some white pepper, but they taste great with a light touch of cumin, blackening spices, celery salt, etc. They are very fun to experiment with.

You can serve them immediately or chill them for later. And kids find them novel enough to give them a whirl — just long enough to find that they love them as much as you do.

Free seeds

The University of Illinois in Urbana has done some of the most extensive soybean research in the country and has selected 13 varieties, all with the prefix Gardensoy, for home gardeners. The National Soybean Research Laboratory at the university offers free packets of these seeds to anyone wishing to try them and help further their research.

To get yours, contact:
Richard L. Bernard
Department of Crop Sciences, University of Illinois
1101 Peabody Drive
Urbana, IL 61801
Phone: (217) 333-7279
E-mail: rbernard@uiuc.edu

An artist, writer and builder, Summer Walla is truly in her element only in the garden, where it all comes together.