Natto Anyone?

topic posted Thu, February 7, 2008 - 3:16 PM by  Tyler
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I just recently came across this wonderful looking ferment and was wondering if anyone has any experience with this culture.
Also, I was wondering if there is any way to acquire the culture other than buying it.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natto
posted by:
Tyler
California
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  • Re: Natto Anyone?

    Thu, February 7, 2008 - 5:48 PM
    Have you eaten Natto? I love it, but not everyone does - for example about half the people in Japan won't touch it.
    • Re: Natto Anyone?

      Fri, February 8, 2008 - 9:24 AM
      Not yet
      • Re: Natto Anyone?

        Fri, February 8, 2008 - 4:13 PM
        I love natto, but have never considered it a food I'd want to make, since that would mean that I'd have to eat a lot more natto than I do now, and natto has notso many friends to eat her so sharing natto becomes problematic...most find it unpleasant I have found, but when it is good mmmmmm step aside scaredy cats, I'm in!

        you are funny to want to make it, but to never have eaten it.
        how would you know if it was "good" or "bad" natto?
  • Re: Natto Anyone?

    Fri, February 8, 2008 - 4:03 PM
    Love the natto. I don't think there's any way to get around buying the spores, since they are so specific, you can't really create an ambient ferment.
    • Re: Natto Anyone?

      Thu, May 29, 2008 - 2:59 PM
      Why don't you just mix some natto that you previously bought with the pressure cooker steamed soy beans?
      I did that in the past and it works.
      • Re: Natto Anyone?

        Sat, May 31, 2008 - 10:34 AM
        i'm going to have to start up a batch today!
        • Re: Natto Anyone?

          Mon, June 2, 2008 - 11:49 AM
          i just found this how to site. though many of the pages i looked at had questionable engrish, i have this one was the cutest so far.



          www.ayur-indo.com/german/g.natto.htm
          • Re: Natto Anyone?

            Thu, June 5, 2008 - 4:34 PM
            ok, so i just tried my first batch of home made natto. it's a little odd to say the least. i've read that a slight ammonia smell is normal, but if it's strong you've got problems. anyone know how strong it needs to be to "have problems"? i'm in the middle of eating a bowl of it right now, and it kinda tastes like ammonia. or, i might just be freaking out a little.... what's the worst that can happen?
  • Natto in the news!

    Tue, February 24, 2009 - 9:17 AM
    www.sciencedaily.com/release...3842.htm
    blog.wired.com/wiredscien...obeans.html


    Stinky Soy Goo Could Fight Alzheimer's

    Natto

    Natto is a soybean product that is sticky, slimy and smelly, but it might be able to ward off Alzheimer's disease.

    Once a theme ingredient on Iron Chef, natto contains an enzyme called nattokinase that can shred brain plaque, and chemists think it could become a game-changing medication.

    In theory, the fermented soy substance would break up the deadly amyloid protein that forms fibrous deposits in the brains of Alzheimer's patients.

    "The ability of nattokinase to degrade amyloid fibrils is quite promising," says Li Gan, an Alzheimer's expert at the Gladstone Institute for Neurological Disease. "Since the enzyme comes from a type of health food, it might have fewer side effects."
    <snip>
    • Re: Natto in the news!

      Tue, February 24, 2009 - 10:51 AM
      Homemade natto (fermented soybeans)
      Ingredients:

      * two cups dried soybeans
      * water
      * one package commercial natto

      Preparation time: 2-3 days
      Directions

      Note: Please read the entire recipe first and make a note of the ingredients and utensils that will be needed. The starter culture must be obtained from store-bought natto, unless you have other sources such as rice straw.

      1. Soak two cups of dried soybeans overnight in ten cups of water.

      2. Put the soybeans in a stainless steel basket (or colander) and cover it with a piece of cloth slightly larger than the basket.

      3. Put the above in a pressure cooker with 3 cups water, and place it on the stove. Turn on the stove.

      4. After the pressure cooker starts hissing, turn down the flame so that the hissing is at its minimum level.

      5. Cook for 15 minutes (measured from the time the hissing has started).

      6. DO NOT OPEN the pressure cooker yet. Allow the pressure cooker and its contents to cool down. If waiting is not your style, place the pressure cooker in the sink filled with cold water. (The soy beans are considered to have cooled down as long as its temperature is below 140 degrees F.)

      7. Make sure that the kitchen counter and its surrounding area are absolutely clean. Sterilize a tablespoon with boiling water.

      8. Wash your hands and arms - long-sleeved shirts not recommended.

      9. Have a package of commercial natto ready.

      10. Open the lid of the pressure cooker, peel back the cloth cover to one end of the basket, and using the tablespoon, quickly mix in about two spoonfuls of natto starter with the beans. Replace the cloth cover.

      11. Close the pressure cooker lid with its air relief hole uncovered.

      12. Place the cooker in a picnic ice-chest and place an electric heating pad over it. Replace the ice-chest cover.

      The natto will be ready in between 24 and 48 hours, depending on the temperature of the heating pad. As an alternate heat source, a 7.5-watt lightbulb may be used. If you don't have a pressure cooker, a regular pot may be used. In this case, the cooking time will need to be increased to about two hours, and the amount of cooking water to about six cups.

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