What on earth is an edamame? That’s what I wondered the first time I saw edamame, (pronounced ed-ah-MAH-may), listed on a Japanese restaurant menu. Well, they’re green soybeans picked before they ripen with a sweet, fresh taste. Since my first sighting in that sushi restaurant about six years ago, edamame has moved more into the mainstream.

Thanks to the glories of frozen vegetables and the younger generation of Americans who are obsessed with healthy foods, edamame can now be found in plastic bags in my regular supermarket’s frozen food section.

And I can choose edamame either shelled for use in cooking or still in the pods. Edamame in the pods are usually served as an appetizer or snack, boiled or steamed and lightly salted, and usually served slightly warm or at room temperature. The correct way to eat them is to squeeze the beans directly into your mouth and leave the pods behind.

This brings up an edamame caution that I’d be remiss not to mention. More than one restaurant encounter with edamame has brought me tooth to tooth with a worm (small but none-the-less identifiable). And then when I was trolling the Internet looking for information for this blog, I discovered I was not the only person with edamame worm sightings. Several bloggers took this in stride, suggesting the worms merely increase the protein content.

In my book, edamame – with an abundant supply of vitamin A, vitamin B, calcium and (yes) protein – are sufficiently healthful without the added worms. My advice? Rinse your edamame well at home before cooking, and in a restaurant, wear your reading glasses and give the pods a once-over before digging in!

So I’m curious. What’s your experience with this new-fangled soybean? Have you shared pods with any insects?