Natto

Natto is a traditional Japanese food of whole soybeans fermented with the bacterium Bacillus subtilis var. natto, usually eaten cold, stirred, and served over rice for breakfast with karashi mustard, soy sauce or tare sauce and sometimes chopped Japanese bunching onion. Its origin is credited in legend to either the eleventh-century samurai Minamoto no Yoshiie or the sixth-century Prince Shotoku, and it likely developed from Chinese fermented soybean condiments called douchi introduced during the Yayoi period; modern commercial production began in Japan's Taisho period, from 1912 to 1926, once researchers isolated the Bacillus subtilis starter culture. It is most popular in eastern Japan, in the Kanto, Tohoku and Hokkaido regions, and is considered an acquired taste for its strong smell, flavor and sticky texture, though a 2009 survey found 70 percent of respondents enjoyed it; a 50-gram serving provides 110 calories and is especially rich in vitamin K, iron and manganese.