Editing Edamame (section)

===Harvesting===
[[File:Edamame (37039111054).jpg|thumb|Edamame for sale in [[Tamba-Sasayama]], [[Japan]]]]
Edamame is typically harvested by hand to avoid damaging the crop's stems and leaves.<ref name="SoyResearch">{{cite book|last1=Shanmugasundaram|first1=S.|last2=Masuda|first2=Ryoichi|last3=Tsou|first3=S.C.S.|last4=Hong|first4=T.L.|title=Vegetable Soybean Research Needs for Production and Quality Improvement|date=1991|publisher=Asian Vegetable Research and Development Center|location=Taipei|isbn=9789290580478|pages=93, 97–99, & 109–112|url=http://pdf.usaid.gov/pdf_docs/PNABK804.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160206192009/http://pdf.usaid.gov/pdf_docs/PNABK804.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-date=February 6, 2016|access-date=6 February 2016}}</ref> Green soybean pods are picked before they fully ripen, typically 35 to 40 days after the crop first flowers.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Fehr|first1=W. R.|last2=Caviness|first2=C. E.|last3=Burmood|first3=D. T.|last4=Pennington|first4=J. S.|title=Stage of Development Descriptions for Soybeans, Glycine Max (L.) Merrill|journal=Crop Science|date=1971|volume=11|issue=6|pages=929–931|doi=10.2135/cropsci1971.0011183X001100060051x}}</ref> Soybeans harvested at this stage are sweeter because they contain more [[sucrose]] than soybeans picked later in the growing season.<ref name="SoyResearch" /> Other factors contributing to edamame's flavor include free [[amino acid]]s such as [[glutamic acid]], [[aspartic acid]], and [[alanine]]. Often these unbound amino acids decrease as the pods fully expand and ripen.<ref name="SoyResearch" />