Clearing the Path For the Stinky, Sticky, Beloved Superfood of Japan: NYrture Natto | food. curated.

Meet Ann Yonetani, the founder/owner and microbiologist behind NYrture New York Natto, an artisanal Japanese natto maker located in Brooklyn, NY. If there's one thing that gets Ann excited, it's bacteria. Ask her about it and her face lights up, she adjusts her glasses, her body settles more comfortably in her chair. She could talk for hours about the microbial worlds that symbiotically live inside us and all around us, a passion that both challenges and fascinates her. Not surprisingly, Ann sees herself as a bacteria farmer more than a natto maker (a distinction I find endlessly charming). By cultivating a healthy environment for growing good bacteria, her soybeans actively ferment into the superfood Japanese call: natto. A food jam-packed with nutrients and health/wellness benefits. This is where her evangelism begins.

To Ann's knowledge, only 3-4 small companies make natto in America, a very tiny market compared to Japan where natto is ubiquitous. Walk into any supermarket or corner store in Japan, you'll easily find over a dozen options for natto. It's a savory morning ritual there, traditionally eaten over warm rice often mixed with soy sauce or a raw egg and scallions. "A power breakfast food," Ann explains "their version of a protein shake or acai bowl." But unfortunately, in America, natto has little exposure. It hasn't reached the popularity of Japanese ramen or sushi. Ann wants to change that.

♪ (gentle music) ♪

["All good food has a story."]

(Ann Yonetani) It's true that natto
has this very unique gooey, sticky texture

but to me that's fun!

You know, it's interesting.
(laughter)

It's something to talk about.

Natto truly is the Japanese cheese.

It's a vegan version or a really complex,
umami-rich, like washed rind cheese.

And yeah, many cheese lovers
really enjoy natto

and see that parallel in flavor profile.

It's a food that I feel
like more people needs to have access to

because I think that
can benefit a lot of people

by incorporating it into their diets.

Hi, my name is Ann Yonetani,
I'm the founder and owner of NYrture Food

which makes natto in Brooklyn, New York.

Natto is really a ubiquitous food,

an everyday food that's most commonly
eaten for breakfast.

Yes, I feel like I have sort of taken on
the mission of being a cheerleader,

a spokesperson, an evangelist
for natto in America.

And it really is because I truly believe
that natto is so special, so unique...

I think if there's any food on Earth
that deserves to be called a superfood

is natto.

♪ (slow piano music) ♪

It's good.

In a weird way, I'm an urban farmer,
an urban micro farmer.

I grow bacteria,
and those bacteria eat soybeans,

and they help me produce natto.

Yeah, I'm a nerd.
(laughter)

So, this is day one of
Nyrture's natto-making-process.

Every batch starts with this step,

which is me hand-sorting
through the beans.

I kind of love this step--
I love this step and I hate this step

but there's something very meditative
about the process

and our beans are beautiful,
I mean, they're so clean,

you know, 99.9% of them look fantastic.

I'd like to think that
every single natto bean we sell

has passed underneath my eyes.

I'm a microbiologist,
that's how I got into this business,

just by being fascinated by
the power of the microbial world.

So, I'm interested in how consuming
some of these good bacterias,

these probiotic-types of bacteria
in the form of fermented food

has that impact in human health.