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Wikkipedia says it is boiled:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edamame
well there’s actually no doubt that they are cooked. i’ve read they are inedible raw.
Beans are mildly toxic when eaten raw.
I like to sprout chick peas, adzuki, mung, and lentils, but I cook them for about 12 minutes before eating.
I imagine that soy beans are also mildly toxic when raw.
Can you further clarify what is the toxic mechanism in raw beans? I find that more helpful for a robust understanding.
Hi bluedolphin – In the book “The Sprout Garden” by Mark Braunstein, 1st edition (there’s another updated edition which I don’t have), pages 52-53 are titled “The controversy over eating raw legume sprouts.” He also mentions on several of the pages that deal with individual beans that they should be cooked for 10-15 minutes.
Here are some excerpts from those two pages:
- “A controversy exists concerning the possible negative effects of eating raw legume sprouts.”
- “Legumes contain a variety of naturally occurring toxins, some of which disrupt the digestive process.”
- “Cooking legumes or their sprouts in water, especially boiling them, does a better job.”
- “Cooking destroys the natural toxins found in all legumes. Such natural toxins, when eaten in large quantity and with great frequency, may cause some problems.”
I also found this on a google search re: toxicity of raw legumes & grains:
http://news.softpedia.com/news/Why-Raw-Undercoo…
excerpts:
- “Lectins, a type of proteins with natural insecticide qualities and found in abundance in raw legumes and grains, can have more severe temporary effects.”
- “It was long known that undercooked beans, due to lectins, can provoke nausea, diarrhea and vomiting.”
Lots of grocery & health food stores sell sprout mixes with chick peas, adzuki, lentil, etc. and I ate them raw for a while in small quantities & infrequently with no problems. However, when I started sprouting myself & starting eating large quantities of raw beans & grains daily, I started to feel sick. Then I came across Mark’s book, and starting cooking my bean & wheat & rice sprouts.
Thank you ron4549~ That’s great info. The article on softpedia really explains it. I like to pinpoint what the issue/mechanism is. The word “toxin” for me is too general. Anything a body attacks is a toxin. I can eat nuts, but for others they are highly “toxic”, fatally toxic.
Also, I’m learning so much that “conventional thinking” is taking a real hit. I’m really questioning a lot of things and then questioning those answers. I can get in a swirl about the whole thing… Yikes… 8|
This just goes to show that beans and sprouts are not really meant to be eaten. If they can’t be eaten in abundance in their whole raw state they were not meant to be eaten. Cooking them might disable the toxins but it also kills the enzymes and does other negative things to them like create many unknown chemical substances some of which might cause more long term damage than the toxins did in the first place.
Does anyone know if one can sprout soybeans? I think that edamame is about the only thing I really miss.
nope. sprouted soybeans must be cooked to be eaten, otherwise they’re toxic. be careful!
curses! ah well, i’ll think on them fondly. soybeans, i hardly knew ye.
thank you for the warning, mango woman! i guess they go on the list with kidney beans and other toxic meanies.