Virginia Tech® home

USDA Edamame Project

ID

SPES-104NP

Authors as Published

Green Edamame in a farm

EDAMAME

Pronounced (“eh-duh-mah-may”)

Lean, green, and full of protein!

What is edamame?

Edamame’ is Japanese for “beans on branches” and are simply edible immature soybeans still in their pods. It has been widely consumed in Asian countries for centuries.

What is the difference between edamame and soybean?

Edamame is a non-GMO specialty soybean typically producing larger seeds with higher sugar content than more traditional soybean varieties.

green Edamame beans on the left and it is larger than yellow soybeans on the right
EDAMAME BEANS ARE TYPICALLY LARGER THAN TRADITIONAL MATURE SOYBEANS (LEFT).

Growing edamame

Edamame is typically planted early spring and harvested late summer to early fall. Edamame is harvested as a vegetable when the seeds are immature but have expanded to fill 80 to 90% of the pod width while moisture levels remain at 65- 70%. It can be harvested by hand or mechanically.

Two pictures showing edamame plots at the eastern shore AREC, and the right picture showing edamame plots being harvested mechanically using a snap-bean harvester
EDAMAME PLOTS AT THE EASTERN SHORE AREC (LEFT). EDAMAME PLOTS BEING HARVESTED MECHANICALLY USING A SNAP-BEAN HARVESTER (RIGHT).

Demand

There is vigorous growth in demand for edamame over the past two decades, estimated at 12-15% annually. Edamame has quickly become the second largest soyfood consumed in the U.S. (25,000-30,000 tons annually) and is being sold in many grocery chains, farmer’s markets, and restaurants such as McDonald’s.

pictures of fresh edamame at different markets
FRESH EDAMAME AT THE FARMER'S MARKET (LEFT), VIRGINIA TECH DINING HALL (MIDDLE), AND INTERNATIONAL SUPERMARKET IN BLACKSBURG, VA (RIGHT).

With a 32,000 ft2 processing facility built in 2011 by Greenwave Foods, Inc., U.S. production of edamame in the Mid-South has increased to more than 2,000 acres. Despite these production increases, at least 70% of edamame consumed in the U.S. is still imported from China and Taiwan, where most of the crop is hand-harvested. There is great potential for increased production of this crop in the U.S.

Kids eating edamame
SOME YOUNG EDAMAME FANS AT THE VIRGINIA TECH DAYCARE.

Nutrition

Edamame, like other soybean-based food products, is loaded with healthful nutrients and delivers some of the highest-quality protein available from a plant-based food. Fresh edamame seed contains 10-14% protein, and is rich in essential amino acids, dietary fiber, minerals and vitamins. It is also a nutritional ally to vegetarian and vegan diets.

Try it for yourself.

Here are two simple recipes you can make using frozen edamame from the grocery store!

Roasted Edamame Beans

2 tsp. olive oil
1/2 tsp. chili powder
1/4 tsp. each of onion salt, dried basil
(crushed), and ground cumin
1/8 tsp. each of paprika & pepper
10 oz. shelled edamame beans
(thaw for ~15-20 mins)

Preheat oven to 375°F. Mix olive oil and seasonings. Drizzle mixture over edamame beans and toss to coat well. Arrange seasoned edamame beans in a single layer on a shallow baking dish. Roast in oven, uncovered until beans begin to brown (12-15 mins). Serve as an appetizer, side dish, or on-the-go snack during the day!

Garlic Edamame Pods

3 cloves of garlic, crushed (not minced)
Course sea salt
2 tbsp. olive oil
1 lb. frozen edamame pods

Boil frozen edamame for approx. 3-5 mins. Drain, pat dry, and set aside. Heat olive oil in skillet, then add crushed garlic cloves and dried edamame pods. Toss until edamame pods begin to brown. Consider adding edamame in two batches depending on size of skillet. Season with sea salt and serve hot alongside some lowsodium soy sauce.

USDA Edamame Project

The USDA Edamame Project is a four-year, $3.7 million project based at Virginia Tech that aims to develop edamame varieties for mechanized production and improved consumer acceptance to increase sustainability of the vegetable industry.

This project spans three universities (VT, UMissouri, U-Ark) and combines expertise in Plant Breeding, Economics, Food Science, Extension, and Phenomics to increase competitiveness and consumption of domestically produced edamame products with improved sensory attributes.

The advisory board consists of experts from both public and private sectors to assist the team in achieving our goal in making the U.S. the main supplier in the global market for edamame.

Picture of the edamame project group

Project Contacts

School of Plant & Environmental Sciences
Dr. Bo Zhang, (540) 231-1731, bozhang@vt.edu
Nick Lord, MS Student, lordnick@vt.edu
Dr. Song Li, (540) 231-2756, songli@vt.edu
Dr. Mark Reiter, mreiter@vt.edu
Dr. Steve Rideout, (757) 414-0724, srideout@vt.edu
Ms. Jill Pollok, (757) 414-0724, jpollok@vt.edu

Department of Agricultural & Applied Economics
Dr. Clinton Neill, (540) 231-0770, cneill@vt.edu

Department of Entomology
Dr. Thomas Kuhar, (540) 231-6129, tkuhar@vt.edu
Kemper Sutton, MS Student, klsutton@vt.edu

Department of Food Science and Technology
Dr. Susan Duncan, (540) 231-3766, duncan@vt.edu
Renata Carneiro, PhD Student, rcvc@vt.edu
Dr. Haibo Huang, (540) 231-0729, huang151@vt.edu
Dajun Yu, PhD Student, dajunyu@vt.edu
Dr. Yun Yin, (540) 231-2029, yunyin2@vt.edu

e-mail: edamame@vt.edu

Facebook: www.facebook.com/vtedamameproject


Virginia Cooperative Extension materials are available for public use, reprint, or citation without further permission, provided the use includes credit to the author and to Virginia Cooperative Extension, Virginia Tech, and Virginia State University.

Virginia Cooperative Extension is a partnership of Virginia Tech, Virginia State University, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and local governments. Its programs and employment are open to all, regardless of age, color, disability, sex (including pregnancy), gender, gender identity, gender expression, national origin, political affiliation, race, religion, sexual orientation, genetic information, military status, or any other basis protected by law

Publication Date

February 15, 2019