Eat this Word: Edamame

WHAT? Japanese bar nuts. Order beer at any bar in Japan (or Taiwan for that matter) and you're more than likely to get a bowl of soybeans pods with your Kirin. The fresh pods, about two inches long and fuzzy, are boiled for a couple of minutes in heavily salted water and cooled. Drinkers peel them and eat the delicious thimble-sized beans inside. The United States produces more than 2.7 billion bushels of soy beans each year, but most are exported or turned into things like salad dressings, pesticides, and diesel fuel. Because the latest research suggests that compounds in the beans may reduce the risk of cancer, lower cholesterol, and prevent osteoporosis, a small number of Americans are finally beginning to eat them. Believe it or not, they also taste good. So why aren't more Americans giving up their bar nuts for edamame? It's a mystery. WHERE? David Skorka, Jonathan Barnett, Robert Campbell, Philippe Chin and Jeff Leidy's Beard House dinner WHEN? January 29, 2010 HOW? Truffled Edamame Panna Cotta with Red Kaiware Shoots and Black Garlic Tuile