SOYBEANS
New variety of soybean suitable for home growing, home eating

Jim Barlow, Life Sciences Editor
(217) 333-5802; b-james3@uiuc.edu

6/1/2000

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- Honey, pass me the soybeans, please. Putting soy on the table is about to get easier. As early as this fall, some family gardeners will have homegrown soybeans available as finger foods or additions to salads, soups and stir-fry meals.

Soybean breeders at the University of Illinois have released six "Gardensoy" lines of larger-than-average beans that taste better than traditional commercial lines. The new vegetable-soybean varieties were developed for growing in home gardens, said Richard Bernard, professor emeritus of crop sciences and plant breeder at the National Soybean Research Laboratory at the UI.

The seeds are being distributed in free sample packs to anyone who requests them, but supplies are limited, said Bernard, whose research has led to several commercial lines of soybean seeds. The seeds can be planted through late June and still grow into a family-sized crop in the fall, he said.

"While all soybeans are edible, certain soybean varieties with larger seeds and milder taste have been developed for human food usage, especially in Japan and Korea," he said. "Those Asian food varieties have desirable seed traits but are not well adapted to our climate, insects and diseases."

The new lines range in size from 50 percent larger than average seeds to those that are twice as large as the common grain types now grown in Illinois. Yields are expected to be about 60 to 80 percent that of average commercial varieties.

"These beans can be harvested and used like any dry bean, but probably the best way to use them is to pick the immature pods while green, after the seeds have reached full size, but before any yellowing begins," he said. "They should be boiled for about four minutes, after which the seeds are ready to eat and can be easily squeezed out of the inedible shell. They can be eaten as finger food or be added to soups, salads, fried rice or other dishes."

After cooking, the soybeans also can be frozen in or out of the pod for later use. When used as a dry bean, they should not be presoaked, which may cause a rancid taste, but rather placed directly into boiling water and allowed to boil for about 30 to 40 minutes. The immature beans, Bernard said, do have another advantage beyond their taste and easy cooking: They won't contain oligosaccharides, a hard-to-digest group of carbohydrates.

The demand for soy products has increased in the wake of numerous studies showing cholesterol-lowering and cancer-fighting benefits. "Eating the whole soybean is an easy and inexpensive alternative and supplement to the many soy-derived products now on the market," Bernard said.

Requests for free sample seed packets should be sent to Richard Bernard, National Soybean Research Laboratory, Department of Crop Sciences, University of Illinois, 1101 Peabody Drive, Urbana, IL 61801, or by calling Bernard at (217) 333-7279 or faxing him at (217) 333-4639.