Edamame beans are freshly harvested soybeans. To prepare, strip beans from stalks; then cook in salted, boiling water for approximately 5 minutes or until beans inside pods are just tender. Season edamame with salt or soy sauce. To eat edamame simply pop the beans out of the pods in your mouth. They are great hot or cold. The pods themselves are not eaten, just the beans inside.

If you don’t want to eat the beans directly from the pods they can also be popped from the pods by hand and used in salads or substituted for chick peas or other beans in a favorite recipe.