01:38 Jul 20, 2011 

Since I’m the only person who had voiced a disagree to any answer, I wish to make it clear that I am not disagreeing any more. My initial disagreement was based solely on the Wikipedia article cited. If we go with the article, then hull is clearly correct. However, Sherwin’s description makes it clear that pod is a correct answer. So I am now neutral on this.

00:35 Jul 20, 2011 

感谢各位关注到我的提问和进行讨论，原文指的是“豆荚”，一般是不会吃那个东西，是Sherwin说的“硬外壳”不是“软外壳”，那应该是 hull/husk 或者是 pod?

23:59 Jul 19, 2011 

我啰嗦一下：根据文意，这里的黄豆外壳不是一颗一颗黄豆子的皮壳；而是黄豆脱离豆荚后留下的空壳子。在农村收过黄豆的朋友会很有体会啦：）。收黄豆时，外壳都是不要的，只要里面的豆子。软外壳给猪等动物吃，硬外壳加工成粉末状喂动物。成熟的黄豆碰碰敲敲豆子就会从外壳里掉出来，黄豆收晚了，豆子会掉一地。不成熟的黄豆，需要用手拨开外壳，取出里面的豆子。依我对大集体生活的印象，生产队收黄豆是收的成熟黄豆，所以外壳掉在地上没有人要是有的。而且在少吃的年代，带青色的豆荚壳即使没有了黄豆，也会拿回家煮食，就像中秋节吃的水煮豆荚，（不知其他地方中秋节是不是吃这玩意）；但一般连发黄的外壳、枝干等生产队也要求统统收起来做饲料。

16:53 Jul 19, 2011 

青的那种叫毛豆. 成熟黄豆的外皮当然可以吃,但是这种皮子很坚硬,自己不可能和黄豆的实体分离. 所以生产队收完黄豆不可能把黄豆的外皮丢在地上. 另外一种可能是黄豆和其外壳之间还有一层包衣,但在黄豆成熟时,这个东西就基本干缩了,根本无法收集,因此生产队也不可能丢弃这种东西让他来捡起来.

16:41 Jul 19, 2011 

That's what I thought initially jyuan, but from the sentence posted, it seems that 黄豆外壳 is not a traditional source of food but was eaten nevertheless when there was no more food at home.

Also, it seems that soybean hulls do have some dietary usage.
(Taken from http://www.livestrong.com/article/376676-nutritional-data-ab...

Soybean hulls, commonly removed during processing or cooking, contain considerable fiber. You can use cooked hulls as fiber additives in hot cereals, soups and casseroles.

16:31 Jul 19, 2011 

Well, building upon what Ambrose mentioned earlier, a quick search online with "soybean hull 黄豆外壳" gave many results of the term soybean hull alongside 大豆壳. So I think it is quite safe to link the word 壳 with hull.
http://www.iciba.com/大豆粉/
http://dictsearch.appspot.com/word/hull

16:30 Jul 19, 2011 

in trying to express what he wated to say. None of the things that have been referenced so far are not edible.

16:27 Jul 19, 2011 

And if we follow the “chaff” link we read

Chaff ( /ˈtʃɑːf/[1] or /ˈtʃæf/) is the dry, scaly protective casings of the seeds of cereal grain, or similar fine, dry, scaly plant material such as scaly parts of flowers, or finely chopped straw. Chaff is inedible for humans,

I do not completely trust Wikipedia. But if we are basing our judgement solely on the cited article, then in the case of soybeans, hull = husk = chaff, which is an “outer layer” (from the Husk article), an “inedible” layer (from the Chaff article) which is removed by a “huller” (from the Husk article). On the other hand, pod = legume (from the Pod = Legume article).

16:20 Jul 19, 2011 

We can make the following two observations from reading that article:

1. The sentences (in the 4th paragraph of the English article)
“Soybeans occur in various sizes, and in many hull or seed coat colors, including black, brown, blue, yellow, green and mottled. The hull of the mature bean is hard, water resistant, and protects the cotyledon and hypocotyl (or "germ") from damage.”

obviously correspond to these sentences in the Chinese article (in the 2nd paragraph under 物理特性):

大豆拥有不同的形状大小、及若干外壳或种皮颜色，包括黑、棕、蓝、黄、或杂色。成熟大豆的外壳非常坚硬并且防水、可以保护子叶和胚轴（或胚）免于被破坏。

It is obvious that “hull” in the English article is “外壳” in the Chinese article.

2. Clicking the “hull” link gives the “Husk” article which states (under “Husking and Dehulling”)
Dehulling is the process of removing the hulls (or chaff) from beans and other seeds. This is sometimes done using a machine known as a huller. To prepare the seeds to have oils extracted from them, they are cleaned to remove any foreign objects. Next, the seeds have their hulls, or outer coverings, or husk, removed. There are three different types of dehulling systems that can be used to process soybeans: […]

This is consistent with 一般在菜市场里卖的黄豆已经把外壳剥掉

13:47 Jul 19, 2011 

注：不是黄豆的皮，是外壳，一般在菜市场里卖的黄豆已经把外壳剥掉