ABSTRACT
With a green or green-yellow color, soft texture, and large seed size (resulting from high moisture content and specially selected varieties), green vegetable soybeans are normally hand-picked at about 80% maturity in the green-yellow pod from the field. Therefore, they are also known as immature soybeans or fresh green soybeans. Direct consumption of green vegetable soybeans is very popular in China, Japan, and some other Far East countries or regions. Steamed or boiled in water before or after shelling, normally for less than 20 min, and lightly salted or spiced, these immature beans can be served either as a delicious green vegetable with a main meal or as a tasty hors d’oeuvre, often with beer or other alcoholic drinks. In Japan, immature soybeans are known as edamame and are sold fresh or frozen in the market. They may also be made into roasted beans, which have a crunchy texture and greenish-beige color, and sold as irori mame. In the West, frozen and canned immature soybeans have appeared on the market. There is at least one U.S. company, known as SunRich, Inc., Hope, Minnesota, which is currently marketing immature soybeans under the brand name of “Sweet Beans®.”
