0:00:00.632,0:00:05.145
♪ (meditative calm music) ♪
0:00:17.416,0:00:24.328
(Ann Yonetani) It's true that natto[br]has this very unique gooey, sticky texture
0:00:24.328,0:00:27.051
but to me that's fun!
0:00:27.051,0:00:30.075
You know, it's interesting.[br](laughter)
0:00:30.889,0:00:32.944
It's something to talk about.
0:00:37.664,0:00:41.190
Natto truly is the Japanese cheese.
0:00:42.023,0:00:44.483
It's a vegan version
0:00:44.483,0:00:50.304
of a really complex, umami-rich,
0:00:50.304,0:00:52.625
like washed rind cheese.
0:00:52.978,0:00:56.965
And yeah, many cheese lovers [br]really enjoy natto
0:00:56.965,0:01:00.962
and see that parallel in flavor profile.
0:01:00.962,0:01:06.063
It's a food that I feel like[br]more people need to have access to
0:01:06.898,0:01:09.971
because I think that [br]can benefit a lot of people
0:01:09.971,0:01:12.419
by incorporating it into their diets.
0:01:12.878,0:01:18.219
Hi, my name is Ann Yonetani,[br]I'm the founder and owner of NYrture Food
0:01:18.219,0:01:21.209
which makes natto in Brooklyn, New York.
0:01:21.716,0:01:25.887
Natto is really a ubiquitous food,
0:01:25.887,0:01:30.609
an everyday food that's most commonly[br]eaten for breakfast.
0:01:31.289,0:01:37.626
Yes, I feel like I have sort of taken on[br]the mission of being a cheerleader,
0:01:37.626,0:01:40.459
a spokesperson,
0:01:40.459,0:01:44.432
an evangelist for natto in America.
0:01:44.432,0:01:48.416
And it really is because I truly believe
0:01:48.416,0:01:52.160
that natto is just so special,
0:01:52.160,0:01:53.459
so unique...
0:01:53.459,0:02:00.561
I think if there's any food on earth[br]that deserves to be called a superfood
0:02:00.561,0:02:01.448
is natto.
0:02:02.858,0:02:05.952
♪ (slow piano music) ♪
0:02:11.413,0:02:12.191
It's good.
0:02:12.865,0:02:16.700
In a weird way, I'm an urban farmer,
0:02:16.700,0:02:18.316
an urban micro farmer.
0:02:18.890,0:02:23.523
I grow bacteria, [br]and those bacteria eat soybeans,
0:02:23.523,0:02:26.168
and they help me produce natto.
0:02:26.588,0:02:29.122
Yeah, I'm a nerd. [br](laughter)
0:02:33.990,0:02:40.296
This is day one of[br]Nyrture's natto-making-process.
0:02:40.508,0:02:43.767
Every batch starts with this step,
0:02:43.767,0:02:46.676
which is me hand-sorting[br]through the beans.
0:02:48.621,0:02:52.692
I kind of love this step--[br]I love this step and I hate this step
0:02:52.692,0:02:58.080
but there's something very meditative[br]about the process
0:02:58.080,0:03:02.017
and our beans are beautiful,[br]I mean, they're so clean,
0:03:02.017,0:03:06.652
you know, 99.9% of them look fantastic.
0:03:07.157,0:03:12.357
I'd like to think that [br]every single natto bean we sell
0:03:12.357,0:03:14.898
has passed underneath my eyes.
0:03:15.391,0:03:19.830
I'm a microbiologist, actually,[br]that's how I got into this business,
0:03:19.830,0:03:26.841
just being fascinated by[br]the power of the microbial world.
0:03:28.324,0:03:33.788
I'm interested in how consuming[br]some of these good bacterias,
0:03:33.788,0:03:39.248
these probiotic-types of bacteria[br]in the form of fermented food
0:03:39.248,0:03:41.858
has that impact in human health.
0:03:44.227,0:03:45.962
Our first products--
0:03:45.962,0:03:50.954
So those little white dots[br]are actually chemically-pure umami taste.
0:03:51.341,0:03:57.821
There is written documentation[br]describing natto for over a 1000 years.
0:03:58.198,0:04:02.075
In the West and in America[br]is virtually unknown.
0:04:02.075,0:04:08.115
It makes me think that if more adults[br]will come to natto with just an open mind,
0:04:08.398,0:04:14.238
a lot more of them might find[br]that they actually like it. (chuckles)
0:04:15.092,0:04:19.720
This might be excessive[br]but I wash them ten times,
0:04:21.210,0:04:24.451
you know, soak them, entertain them,
0:04:24.451,0:04:26.824
and then, dump out the water.
0:04:26.824,0:04:29.331
And then, they sit in the bath overnight,
0:04:29.331,0:04:34.179
so that the beans are able to hydrate.
0:04:35.449,0:04:39.655
They will swell to over twice[br]their weight and volume.
0:04:40.605,0:04:42.975
When I first learned how to make natto
0:04:42.975,0:04:46.774
from a fifth-generation [br]natto-maker in Tokio,
0:04:48.272,0:04:51.450
he told me that the most important step
0:04:51.450,0:04:55.938
was to choose the best beans you could[br]to start with,
0:04:57.488,0:04:58.716
and he was right.
0:05:03.976,0:05:10.186
The best natto soybeans in America
0:05:10.186,0:05:14.050
are grown in the northern midwest,
0:05:14.050,0:05:16.107
mostly in North Dakota.
0:05:17.501,0:05:20.090
And something that [br]a lot of people don't realize
0:05:20.090,0:05:24.072
is that most of the natto [br]that is made in the world,
0:05:25.641,0:05:29.457
i.e. the natto that is made[br]and sold in Japan,
0:05:29.457,0:05:33.096
it's actually, most of it, [br]is made from US-grown soy,
0:05:33.508,0:05:37.554
and the bulk for that, also,[br]from North Dakota, specifically.
0:05:37.804,0:05:41.267
We also have black soybeans
0:05:41.267,0:05:45.607
and then, we have another brown bean[br]which is certified organic.
0:05:46.974,0:05:54.000
Natto soybeans are very different[br]from the typical commodity soybean.
0:05:54.000,0:05:57.971
That's their non-GMO certified definition.
0:05:58.511,0:06:04.937
But soybeans that are used to make natto[br]by any decent natto-maker
0:06:04.937,0:06:10.812
are really beans that have been[br]carefully selected over generations
0:06:10.812,0:06:15.061
to be ideal for this particular[br]fermentation process.
0:06:15.637,0:06:18.097
♪ (music) ♪
0:06:28.193,0:06:31.443
What makes Nyrture's natto unique:
0:06:31.443,0:06:33.783
Our natto is fresh,
0:06:34.240,0:06:36.743
it's never been frozen,
0:06:36.743,0:06:41.171
unlike all the natto[br]that is imported from Japan--
0:06:41.171,0:06:43.269
it's frozen before export.
0:06:44.261,0:06:45.167
That's important,
0:06:45.167,0:06:51.065
one, because freezing and thawing food[br]can really affect its taste and texture,
0:06:51.517,0:06:57.716
but two, if people are motivated[br]by eating natto for its health benefits,
0:06:57.716,0:07:01.483
freezing and thawing, [br]also, significantly damage
0:07:01.483,0:07:03.486
those health benefits, as well.
0:07:04.100,0:07:05.279
(Liza) How is it?
0:07:05.834,0:07:11.288
Good, they're nice and soft,[br]has some sugar to it, it's sweet...
0:07:11.734,0:07:15.668
It has at least three [br]completely unique properties
0:07:15.668,0:07:19.917
that are unlike any other food on earth.
0:07:19.917,0:07:26.268
Number one, it's probiotic,[br]it's fermented with Bacillus subtilis,
0:07:26.268,0:07:30.701
which is a member [br]of the healthy gut microbiome,
0:07:30.701,0:07:32.800
so it's a probiotic bacteria
0:07:32.800,0:07:38.552
that isn't found in any other[br]fermented food certainly in the West.
0:07:38.552,0:07:41.100
The second one is that natto
0:07:41.100,0:07:47.818
is the most concentrated food source[br]of vitamin K2 of any food on earth,
0:07:47.818,0:07:50.952
and it beats any other[br]by an order of magnitude.
0:07:50.952,0:07:56.118
Vitamin K2 is essential for bone health
0:07:56.118,0:08:00.399
but it's also very important[br]for cardiovascular health.
0:08:00.399,0:08:04.233
It doesn't matter [br]how much calcium you eat,
0:08:04.233,0:08:09.033
if you don't have enough vitamin K2[br]to help recruit it out of your bloodstream
0:08:09.033,0:08:10.731
and bring it to to your bones,
0:08:10.731,0:08:14.566
it accumulates and causes [br]arterial calcification,
0:08:14.566,0:08:16.817
and leads to heart disease.
0:08:16.817,0:08:22.473
The third reason is that[br]there's an enzyme named after natto,
0:08:22.473,0:08:24.567
called nattokinase,
0:08:24.567,0:08:29.652
and this enzyme is [br]a natural blood thinner.
0:08:29.652,0:08:34.453
It has an enzymatic activity which, [br]actually, has been shown
0:08:34.453,0:08:39.067
to be able of breaking down blood clots,
0:08:39.067,0:08:44.385
and the only natural source of it[br]is natto.
0:08:44.385,0:08:50.550
Well, there are some cardiologists[br]who are starting to promote natto.
0:08:50.550,0:08:56.982
We're really hoping to work[br]with healthcare providers
0:08:56.982,0:09:01.133
to educate them, and help them[br]educate their patients.
0:09:01.133,0:09:03.915
Whether your reason is the vitamin K2,
0:09:03.915,0:09:08.068
the nattokinase content,[br]or the probiotics,
0:09:08.068,0:09:14.084
why not at least give it a try[br]and eat the food which is,
0:09:14.084,0:09:16.517
one, delicious, I think,
0:09:16.517,0:09:19.700
two, cheaper than taking a pill,
0:09:19.700,0:09:24.418
and three, you get all three[br]of these benefits at once.
0:09:24.972,0:09:30.849
They sit here and age and require[br][inaudible] of a week or so.
0:09:30.849,0:09:31.405
Many Japanese people have told me[br]that our natto
0:09:31.405,0:09:38.221
is the most delicious natto[br]they've ever had
0:09:38.221,0:09:40.687
either here or even in Japan,
0:09:40.687,0:09:42.771
which is great to hear.
0:09:42.771,0:09:49.154
I've also gone to [br]the National Natto Competition in Japan
0:09:49.154,0:09:53.322
and met many natto producers from Japan,
0:09:53.322,0:09:58.587
and also have gotten very high praise[br]from natto producers in Japan.
0:09:59.904,0:10:02.005
♪ (exciting music) ♪
0:10:04.522,0:10:07.275
I think the favorite moment of mine
0:10:07.275,0:10:12.153
in the entire week-long-process[br]of making the natto
0:10:12.153,0:10:18.169
is that moment [br]after the fermentation is complete
0:10:18.169,0:10:25.303
when I get to pull back the film[br]on a fresh tray of natto,
0:10:25.303,0:10:28.054
and just see that neba-neba stickiness,
0:10:28.054,0:10:33.088
those spiderwebs, [br]sort of coming off the beans--
0:10:33.088,0:10:38.554
The more resistance [br]I have from those strings,
0:10:38.554,0:10:42.687
the better I know the fermentation is,[br]the better the natto,
0:10:42.687,0:10:48.120
so it serves as quality control assessment[br]at the same time,
0:10:48.120,0:10:55.888
but I love that feeling [br]of the biofilm resisting my pull.
0:10:55.888,0:10:57.503
(laughter)
0:10:57.971,0:11:00.589
♪ (exciting music) ♪
0:11:00.789,0:11:04.572
Yeah, we really look at this [br]as a long game
0:11:04.572,0:11:08.372
and we're at the very beginning of it[br]right now,
0:11:08.372,0:11:14.404
but I suspect it may take 10 years,[br]maybe 20 years,
0:11:14.404,0:11:22.320
for natto to become known enough[br]for people to recognize it
0:11:22.320,0:11:24.992
as a thing, as a food...
0:11:24.992,0:11:32.753
It'll take a while, and a lot of education[br]and exposure like this,
0:11:32.753,0:11:35.422
to just spread the word.
0:11:35.422,0:11:39.138
♪ (music) ♪
0:11:49.421,0:11:53.620
Our logo, many people comment on our logo,
0:11:53.620,0:11:57.104
it's actually a mathematical function,
0:11:57.104,0:12:00.819
it's a Fermat's spiral [br]or a parabolical spiral,
0:12:00.819,0:12:05.721
and I love it because at the center of it[br]kind of look like a ying-yang symbol,
0:12:05.721,0:12:10.322
and to me it represents[br]the two ingredients in our food,
0:12:10.322,0:12:13.745
the soybean and the probiotic bacteria,
0:12:13.745,0:12:19.205
that are coming together and synergizing[br]and making something better, bigger,
0:12:19.205,0:12:22.588
more beautiful than[br]the two components alone.
0:12:23.254,0:12:26.388
♪ (outro music) ♪
0:12:26.845,0:12:29.729
English subtitles by[br]Jenny Lam-Chowdhury