Taiwan Green Gold! Taro-flavored edamame is available in December

After 10 years of selection and breeding, the Council of Agriculture's Kaohsiung Agricultural Improvement Station launched a new high-yield and high-quality taro-flavored edamame variety "Kaohsiung No. 11 - Fragrant Honey" this year. It is Taiwan's first independently hybridized taro-flavored tea bean variety. The bean kernels not only have a strong taro flavor, but also have the characteristics of large pods and high yields. It has increased production by more than 25% compared to the Japanese Xiangji tea bean variety. It is ready to be authorized for use in the industry to continue to expand the export territory of "Taiwan Green Gold".

The annual export value of Taiwan's edamame products reaches more than 60 million US dollars, and its market share in Japan is 41.8%, ahead of competitors such as China and Thailand. (Photo courtesy of the Council of Agriculture)

Zhou Guolong, an associate researcher at the Agricultural Research Laboratory, said that Taiwan's agriculture is amazing. Rice can have a taro flavor, and edamame can also have a taro flavor. In addition to emitting fragrance, taro-flavored edamame can also be smelled and tasted. Put it in your mouth and chew it carefully, the rich taro flavor will make you praise it endlessly.

For a long time, most of the taro-flavored edamame grown in Taiwan has been the Japanese tea bean variety, but the pods of the "tea bean" are relatively small and the yield is lower. The Kaohsiung Farm started a breeding program for local taro-flavored edamame in 2001. After 10 years of selection and cultivation, this year it launched a new variety of tea beans with a strong taro flavor, "Kaohsiung No. 11 - Fragrant Honey." This variety is better than its parent, not only retaining the taro fragrance of its mother plant, "Xiangji Tea Bean", but also has the characteristics of large pods and high yield, increasing its yield by more than 25% compared to the "Xiangji Tea Bean" variety.

Zhou Guolong pointed out that the annual export value of Taiwan's edamame products reaches more than 60 million US dollars, and its market share in Japan is 41.8%, ahead of competitors such as China and Thailand. Among them, "Kaohsiung No. 9" accounts for about 80% and taro-flavored edamame accounts for about 20%.

In Japanese supermarkets, a 400-gram bag of frozen edamame with taro flavor costs 100 yen more than the regular edamame flavor. The "Kaohsiung No. 11-Xiangmi" variety is the result of Taiwan's independent hybrid breeding. It is a genuine MIT and is expected to enhance the competitiveness of Taiwan's edamame products in the international market after promotion.

The Council of Agriculture's Kaohsiung Agricultural Improvement Station launched a new high-yield, high-quality taro-flavored edamame variety this year, "Kaohsiung No. 11 - Fragrant Honey." It is Taiwan's first independently hybridized taro-flavored tea bean variety. (Photo courtesy of the Council of Agriculture)

Zhou Guolong emphasized that in the past, Taiwan's export companies looked for farmers to contract to grow Japanese Koji tea beans. In order to avoid seed mixing and mutation, they had to purchase seeds from Japan every 3 to 5 years, at a cost of around NT$1,000 per kilogram. Today, Taiwan has its own taro-flavored tea bean variety, "Kaohsiung No. 11 - Fragrant Honey," which not only helps Taiwan break away from its reliance on Japan, but also gives Taiwanese consumers who like to eat edamame a chance to feast on their delicious taste buds.

The variety has applied for plant variety rights in the country and is currently under public review. It is expected that professional soybean farmers will start trial planting this fall, and will cooperate with processing industries to develop taro-flavored tea bean products. Therefore, consumers will be able to eat authentic Taiwanese taro-flavored edamame in December.