Just Bento

Natto is so very cheap that I can't imagine ever attempting to make it for myself.
The soy beans in all the natto I've eaten are much muh smaller than the dried soya beans I can easily buy. I think special ones are used and these are probably harder to get hold of than ready made natto. This means that you may not have any of the basic ingredients needed to begin your natto growing adventure.

Usually natto comes in tiny portions. If you find you don't like it there are a few ways you can cook it where the taste is barely noticeable (I have a couple of recipes I can share if you need any). The portions will keep in the freezer for a few months.

(raises hand) I've tried making natto, since natto used to be, for me, a luxury item.

I asked my mother how my oba-chan (grandma) used to make it. I'd never seen her making it myself, but apparently there were some periods when my mother was growing up when times were tough, and oba-chan grew vegetables and made natto and stuff to get by. My mother told me that oba-chan just cooked some soybeans until soft, added a little pre-existing natto to it, wrapped it up warm and then stuck it in a warm place, such as a switched-off kotatsu (a heated table covered with a warm comforter...a fixture of Japanese homes until recently (well it still is in older homes, but I digress...)). In the morning the natto-kinase (the natto bacteria) would have spread all around the soy beans, making them pleasantly pungent and sticky.

So, with this knowledge I tried cooking beans, adding natto, and incubating it in an oven that had been switched on for about half an hour at minimum temperature (about 50 degrees C) then switched off. Result: the natto developed an odd sour flavor, and didn't get that sticky. The temperature could have been too high.

So, next I tried a yogurt maker. Result: the natto had the right taste, but there was not enough stickiness.

So then, I got some dried nattokinase powder from a mailorder place in Germany. (In the US you can try Gem Cultures; otherwise try googling for nattokinase). That was a bit more potent than using previous natto. The beans got sticky in the yogurt maker. But the flavor was not quite there. I tried the oven again, and got a trayful of natto/beans with *pink* stuff growing on it. Ew. I threw it out.

So that's when I decided that natto making was not working out for me, and abandoned the project. That was about 4 years ago.

I do think that the critical points are the incubation temperature, sterility of your instruments (the tray or container you're using, your utensils, etc) and the quality of nattokinase you're starting out with. I suspect that the natto Iwas using (frozen supermarket quality stuff) was not potent enough, and possibly got a not-that-good strain of nattokinase in that powder.

Not sure I'll try natto making again though, since I've found a local natto maker who makes really delicious natto. ^_^;

Thanks for the responses. I guess I'll just have to pick up some natto the next time I trek out to the local Asian store (which probably won't be for quite a while). If I like it, I probably will try making natto using a little of the purchased natto, just for kicks.

Loretta, thanks for the recipe offers. If I really can't stand it, I'll probably try Maki's natto-fried rice recipe (and then I won't try to make any). The only thing I've ever bought that I couldn't find some way to eat was smoked sardines. Just the smell was overwhelming to me, and not even my cat would go near them. But I like somewhat pungent cheeses, so I'm hoping I'll like natto (in some disguised form or another).

Thanks also,
Although I have no plans to make natto in the forseeable future, I am considering making tempeh at some point and I'm sure Maki's comments will prove useful when I finally get the starter and give it a try.

I seem to be one of those rare people who neither love nor hate natto, I end up eating it because it's a favourite of my husband, a true Tokyoite.

I've flicked through a few blogs in the past of people documenting their first encounter with natto. Most of them just try it neat and unadorned before proclaiming it to be revolting. Maki's rice and natto recipe seems to be an excellent way to start!

It is worth persevering with as an ingredient as it's so good for you.
My favourite way to have it is added to a rich 'bolognese' style sauce with a dollop of mascerpone and some parmesan with spaghetti. My husband got the idea from a pasta restaurant in Komagome
(there's a photo of a similar offering from another Tokyo pasta restaurant here: http://www.blownstack.com/twoate/2006/06/sticky_foods_matsuri_part_2_ha.... in this place they use cream instead of mascarpone, the parmesan will be provided separately at the table)

Haven't made natto, but from the description it sounds a heck of a lot like making your own yogurt or cheese, which I HAVE done! Or making beer or wine, which the husband does. We're a fermentation-friendly household.

For an aged cheese, sterility of everything the milk comes into contact with is paramount. Good milk to start with is important. For each culture/variety of cheese, there is also a path of temperatures for the milk to go through before being separated and pressed. After being molded, a lot of cheeses need other checkups (the cheddar I made last year needed to be washed and dried for a few weeks before I waxed it.. I didn't do this with one of them to see what happened, and it was Not Pretty). I suspect natto might be the same - there might be something important to do with the beans before you process them with the nattokinase? Perhaps they need to be very fresh?