Nattō
Template:Short description {{#invoke:other uses|otheruses}} Template:Italic title Template:Infobox food
Template:Nihongo is a traditional Japanese food made from whole soybeans that have been fermented with Bacillus subtilis var. natto.<ref name="hosking-jfood"/> It is often served as a breakfast food with rice.<ref name="dapress18"/> It is served with karashi mustard, soy or tare sauce, and sometimes Japanese bunching onion. Within Japan, nattō is most popular in the eastern regions, including Kantō, Tōhoku, and Hokkaido.<ref name="soyinfocenter2012"/><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
Nattō is often considered an acquired taste because of its powerful smell, strong flavor, and sticky, slimy texture.<ref name="katz"/><ref name="economist20"/><ref name="buerk21"/><ref name="jcentre22"/><ref name="massahiro23"/> A 2009 survey revealed that 70% of Japanese people find the taste pleasant, and others who may not find the taste pleasant still eat the food out of habit.<ref name="navi16"/>
HistoryEdit
Sources differ about the earliest origin of nattō. One theory is that nattō was codeveloped in multiple locations in the distant past, since it is simple to make with ingredients and tools commonly available in Japan since ancient times.<ref name="D Murakhver 2012 p. 1412">Template:Cite book</ref>
Legendary originsEdit
One story about the origin of nattō attributes it to the samurai Minamoto no Yoshiie (1039–1106), who was on a campaign in northeastern Japan between 1086 and 1088 AD. One day, his troops were attacked while boiling soybeans for their horses. They hurriedly packed up the beans, and did not open the straw bags until a few days later, by which time the beans had fermented. The soldiers ate it anyway, and liked the taste, so they offered some to Yoshiie, who also liked the taste.<ref name=":0">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="ShurtleffAoyagi20122">Template:Cite book</ref>
Another story involves Prince Shotoku (574–622), who is said to have wrapped the leftovers of boiled soybeans in straw bags for his horse. As people happened to eat these fermented beans and found them delicious, this type of fermented stringy beans soon gained popularity in Japan because of its unique taste and strong flavor.<ref name=":1">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Chinese douchiEdit
Before nattō, there was a similar dish of fermented black soybeans food in China called shì, chǐ(Template:Lang-zh), or douchi (Template:Zh). These are salted, fermented and aged whole soybean seasonings or condiments invented in China and spread throughout East Asia. They are usually made from fermented soybeans and with an ample amount of salt; however, the ingredients and production methods differ in Japan. Chinese use both black and yellow soybeans to produce douchi. The amount of salt used also differentiates douchi and nattō in taste and appearance.<ref name=":2">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name=":3">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
The cultivation methods of soybeans and rice were imported from China to Japan during the Yayoi period, and later on, the circulation of salt began to flourish in Japan. This provided an opportunity for the production of douchi to become popular in Japan. Because salt was expensive at the time, it has been suggested that nattō was invented by accident during the production of douchi.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" />
A wooden slip was excavated in Heijō-kyō, which had the Chinese character 豉 (chǐ; soybean) written on it.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":2" /> The excavation of the slip is considered an evidence to support the hypothesis that the invention of nattō was based on the Chinese douchi imported to Japan.
The Chinese character 豉 entered Japan in the 8th century. It was pronounced "kuki" until the 11th century, when nattō became a new name for fermented soybeans.<ref name=":3" />
Commercialization in the Taisho periodEdit
A change in the production of nattō occurred in the Taishō period (1912–1926), when researchers discovered a way to produce a nattō starter culture containing Bacillus subtilis without the need for straw, thereby simplifying the commercial production of nattō and enabling more consistent results.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
NutritionEdit
Template:Nutritionalvalue Nattō is 55% water, 13% carbohydrates, 19% protein, and 11% fat (table). In a Template:Convert serving, nattō supplies 110 calories and is a rich source (20% or more of the Daily Value, DV) of several dietary minerals, especially iron (33% DV) and manganese (73% DV), and vitamin K (542% DV). Nattō contains some B vitamins and vitamin C in moderate amounts (table).
Appearance and consumptionEdit
Nattō has a distinctive odor, somewhat akin to a pungent aged cheese. Stirring nattō produces many sticky strings.<ref name=hosking-jfood/> The dish is eaten cold with rice, mixed with the included soy sauce or karashi mustard if eaten from a commercially packaged nattō. Other ingredients such as long onion or kimchi are often added.
Nattō is frequently eaten as nattō gohan (nattō on rice). Nattō is occasionally used in other foods, such as nattō sushi (nattōmaki), nattō toast, in miso soup, tamagoyaki, salad, as an ingredient in okonomiyaki, chahan, or even with spaghetti. Sometimes soybeans are crushed before fermenting.
Many find the taste unpleasant and smelly while others relish it as a delicacy. Nattō is more popular in some areas of Japan than in others. Nattō is known to be popular in the eastern Kantō region, but less popular in Kansai.<ref name="navi16"/>
For those who dislike the smell and texture of natto, "dried natto" and "fried natto" were developed around 1990. The smell and stickiness are reduced, making it easier to eat for those who do not like conventional natto. Another type of fermented soybeans called mamenoka (Template:Langx) has also been developed by improving the soybean and natto bacillus varieties to make it less sticky.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Production processEdit
CommercialEdit
Nattō is made from soybeans, typically nattō soybeans. Smaller beans are preferred, as the fermentation process will be able to reach the center of the bean more easily. The beans are washed and soaked in water for 12 to 20 hours to hydrate them, and increase their size.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Next, the soybeans are steamed for six hours, although a pressure cooker may be used to reduce the time. The cooked beans are mixed with the bacterium Bacillus subtilis, known as nattō-kin in Japanese. From this point on, care must be taken to keep the ingredients away from impurities and other bacteria. The mixture is fermented at Template:Convert for up to 24 hours. Afterward, the nattō is cooled, then aged in a refrigerator for up to one week to allow the development of stringiness.
In nattō-making facilities, these processing steps have to be done while avoiding incidents in which soybeans are touched by workers. Even though workers use B. subtilis natto as the starting culture, which can suppress some undesired bacterial growth, workers pay extra-close attention not to introduce skin flora onto soybeans.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
HomeEdit
Nattō continues to be a popular home fermentation activity with some families starting new batches daily. Home production was historically done using rice straw to maintain moisture and as insulation with placement in naturally warmer parts of the home or fermentation shed, but is now done with moist towels over glass pans or perforated plastic wrap on thermostat-controlled heating pads. At-home fermentation machines are also available but are rarely marketed specifically for nattō, which is a less finicky culture capable of sustaining its own ideal temperature once it gets going.Template:Cn
End productEdit
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Mass-produced nattō is sold in small polystyrene containers. A typical package contains two, three, or occasionally four containers, each Template:Convert. One container typically complements a small bowl of rice.
Nattō odor comes from diacetyl and pyrazines, but if it is allowed to ferment too long, then ammonia is released.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
The fermenting of nattō develops glutamic acid, which is why it has an umami flavour.
Related productsEdit
Many countries around Asia also produce similar traditional soybean foods fermented with Bacillus bacteria, such as shuǐdòuchǐ (水豆豉) of China, cheonggukjang (청국장) of Korea, thua nao (ถั่วเน่า) of Thailand, kinema of Nepal and the Himalayan regions of West Bengal and Sikkim, tungrymbai of Meghalaya, hawaijaar of Manipur, bekang um of Mizoram, akhuni of Nagaland, and piak of Arunachal Pradesh, India.<ref name="soyinfocenter2012"/><ref name="arorahand1"/>
GalleryEdit
- Natto mixed.jpg
Nattō being stirred with chopsticks
- Natto gunkan maki by LWY in Fukuoka.jpg
Nattō gunkan maki (Nattō sushi)
- 納豆卵かけご飯 07.jpg
Nattō served on white rice with raw egg
- Natto, with welsh onion and karashi by yoppy.jpg
Nattō topped with karashi mustard and negi onion
See alsoEdit
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- Cheonggukjang – Traditional Korean food made by fermenting soybeans.
- Template:Annotated linkTemplate:Spaced ndash Other fermented soy foods include soy sauce, Japanese miso and fermented tofu.
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- KinemaTemplate:Spaced ndash traditional Nepalese food made from fermented soybean
- Nattokinase
ReferencesEdit
Template:Reflist Template:Commons and category Template:Japanese food and drink Template:Soy