If you
don’t know what this is, I’ll try to describe it the best I can – smelly, slimy
soy beans. It has a smell worse than blue cheese and a slime worse than the
insides of okra, two other things I don’t eat. People who eat natto act like
it’s the tastiest food ever. They eat it
on top of rice, and they even eat it for breakfast. I think you probably have
to start eating natto when you are young; you can’t just start eating it and
liking it at my age.
Wikipedia
says this about natto – It’s made from soybeans fermented with Bacillus subtillis (whatever that is)
and is a rich source of protein. It is most popular in Kanto, Tohoku, and
Hokkaido and 236,000 tons of natto are eaten in Japan each year!
Maybe
people eat it for the perceived health benefits, surely they can’t really like
it. I’ve read that natto reduces the likelihood of blood clots, prevents osteoporosis,
prevents cancer, lowers cholesterol, prevents obesity, improves digestion, and
reverses the aging process. Even if all
that were true (and it may be), I just can’t bring myself to put natto in my
mouth.
I’ve
tried many new foods since moving here, but I will continue to just say no to
natto!
2 comments:
I'm totally with you on the natto! I tried it once with my language teacher - in my early innocent days in Japan - and never never again. There are so many other delicious foods that I don't feel guilty saying a resounding no to that one and besides it helps my Japanese friends and acquaintances feel a little superior as they all seem to like it.
I've been in Japan for over 30 years and I still say No, thank you! to natto. However, it IS very healthy.
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