Not on your Natto

It's hard to fathom how anyone could ever had had the idea of eating natto – a fermented soya bean dish that has been consumed in Japan "since ancient times" – the mere description of it has the power to repulse:

"The first thing noticed by the uninitiated after opening a pack of nattō is the very strong ammoniacal smell, akin to strong cheese. Stirring the nattō produces lots of spiderweb-like strings. The nattō itself has a taste somewhat akin to glue."














Make your own natto.

Maybe it's appeal lies in the very fact of it's putridity - after all, durian, papaya and Parmesan cheese all have their devotees. Or it could be that natto lovers are attracted by its many health benefits (Warning: not all health benefits are proven), including: prevention of osteoporosis, reduced risk of blood clots, beneficial to the skin, may help to prevent Alzheimer's, cancer, dysentry, obesity, hair loss, ageing – the list goes on.

A comment left on a rather astonishing You Tube video about the joys of Natto seems to sum it up:

If foreigner ask me why we eat natto, I'm not sure what to answer...I don't think the word ''delicious'' is proper. How does it taste like? I DONT KNOW...All I can say is sometimes I get to be dying for it after I haven't had it for a while.

Worringly, the comment was left by someone calling themselves runnyrunny999...