Edamame Beans

For several years these immature soya beans have been dubbed a –superfood– and are the snack of choice for urban, barfly hipsters while they wait for their sushi and discuss their omega 3 to 6 balance. Who knows what inspired John Walter Symons, a cider-making veg grower and one of our founder co-op members, to sow afield of edamame on his Devon farm, but the first we heard of this was when a few bean-laden plants appeared on my desk. Always up for a challenge, I spent the evening researching and cooking, and they got a firm thumbs up from all. They are best lightly boiled, salted and eaten out of their pods as a snack; no-one will get me claiming superfood status for anything, but edamame must be better for you than a pork scratching.