The Joys of Edamame
(Page 2 of 5)
Some Japanese farmers transplant this valuable crop from
the greenhouse. To do this, be sure to grow the seedlings
in separate pots and carefully transplant them after
hardening off the plants.
RELATED CONTENT
Growing ... Growing ... Gone
December/January 2003
by Lester R. Brown
We risk a global cr...
Sliced or diced, raw or cooked, onions are an essential crop for the kitchen, and they grow well in...
Rice is a delicious and versatile grain that’s fun to grow yourself. And, because commercial grain ...
With a few grapevines, some patience and a little know-how, you can make fabulous organic wines at ...
Make sure your edamame bed gets full sun and give the
plants the same amount of water you give peas or beans.
Once the plants start yielding harvestable pods, keep the
beans picked on schedule, not missing any. Remember the
plant's goal is to reproduce, and they won't continue
yielding if you allow them to make seed.
WHEN DO YOU PICK?
Harvesting edamame pods for fresh eating is like picking
peas for shelling. The first sign your crop is close to
harvest is the swelling of the pods. Once this starts it's
a good idea to check your plants every couple of days to
monitor their progress. This is important because they can
quickly over ripen and become starchy. When the beans are
fully formed and almost touching each other within the
pods, open a few of the plumpest pods to see if the beans
are fully formed, and taste a few of them raw. They should
be mildly sweet and tender without any starchiness.
Iowa gardener David Cavagnaro says, "There's a very narrow
harvest window, and you really have to pay attention to get
the maximum tenderness and sweetness from your crop." Never
let the pods turn yellow, a sure sign the beans inside are
getting starchy and past their prime.
COOKING OR FREEZING YOUR CROP
So now you've got a crop of edamame coming in, and you're
finding out just how many pods those couple of rows you
planted can produce. If there are more ripe pods than you
can use fresh, the best way to preserve them at their peak
of perfection is to freeze. Freezing edamame is almost as
easy as cooking them to eat on the spot. All you do is wash
them, then cook and freeze right in the pod.
For freezing, put the pods into lightly sated, boiling
water, aril instead of cooking them for five to six minutes
as you would when you plan to eat them fresh, reduce the
cooking time to three to four minutes. When they're done,
lift the pods from the boiling water and put them into a
basin of ice water. This will stop the cooking process.
Once all the pods are chilled, lift them from the water and
pat the excess water with a clean kitchen towel. Next place
them into plastic freezer bags, press the excess air out
and pop them into the freezer. When you want a taste of
summer, just take a bag out of the freezer, pour the
contents straight into a pot of boiling water and cook for
only two to three minutes.
Page:
<< Previous 1 | 2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
Next >>
