 |
Japanese food has recently gained popularity overseas, but even many of those who have come to relish sushi and tempura still draw the line at eating natto. Natto is a relatively simple fermented food, traditionally made by wrapping soybeans in rice straw, adding the bacteria bacillus natto, and letting the beans ferment for a specified period of time at a temperature of about 40oC.
At first glance, one is struck by the enticing brown hue. The distinctive aroma, which fills the senses when a container is opened, and the glutinous (sticky) natto strings that stretch out from one’s chopsticks, distinguish natto from other fermented Asian soybean products like Nepal’s kinema and Indonesia’s tempe.
This unique food is actually quite good for your health. Soybeans contain high-quality protein, and scientists have discovered that fermenting them with bacillus natto results in additional health benefits. In 1980 Professor Hiroyuki Sumi of the Kurashiki University of Science and the Arts, discovered the enzyme Nattokinase. Contained in bacillus natto, the enzyme is extremely potent at dissolving thrombi—the blood clots that can cause heart attacks and strokes by blocking blood vessels—and it remains effective for as long 12 hours from consumption. Moreover, during the 1996 outbreak in Japan of food poisoning caused by the e. coli O-157 bacterium, people scrambled to buy natto—leaving many stores nationwide sold out of it—because Nattokinase also has antibiotic effects. And natto contains a long list of other beneficial constituents: calcium, which can help prevent osteoporosis and diabetes; vitamins K2 and B2; lecithin, which breaks down “bad” cholesterol; and dietary fiber, which can also help prevent diabetes and relieve constipation. These combine to give natto almost countless health-promoting effects. |
 |
| July 10 is “ Natto day” because of a pun—nana, which can be abbreviated as “ na ”, means “seven” and, by extension, July; and “to” (pronounced like “toe”) means “ten.” The day is marked by a special event held at Mito Station in Ibaragi Prefecture, where the main attraction is the natto made by a broad lineup of natto manufacturers. |
|
