History of Natto and Its Relatives (1405-2012 - SoyInfo Center

drying.
“The dry beans are placed in wooden buckets [kegs,
bound with bamboo hoops] that have a capacity of about
15 gallons. Strips of ginger are placed in the bottom of the
buckets before adding the beans and the salt water to cover
them. A [wooden] cover that fi ts inside the bucket is placed
over the beans and a very heavy weight placed on the cover.
Rough stones estimated to weigh about 100 pounds are
used for weights. Figure 18 [a photo] shows the buckets
with the stone weights used during fermentation, which
requires 6 to 12 months and must include one full summer.
During fermentation the beans acquire a dark reddish color
that is not unpleasing. After fermentation is completed and
the beans are dried in the sun, they turn black. Hamanatto
contains about 11 percent salt, said to be the cause of their
turning black. Hamanatto will keep at room temperature for
1 year or longer.
“The makers of hamanatto, now using only Japanese
soybeans, prefer a very select grade grown only in Hokkaido
because they are large, are uniform in size, and are free
of foreign matter. They claim to pay ¥4,500 for 60 kg. of
specially selected beans; an equal quantity of U.S. [soy]
beans would cost them ¥3,000. On this basis the relative cost
per 60-pound bushel of Hokkaido and U.S. soybeans is $5.65
and $3.80, respectively.
“An analysis [of Hamanatto] supplied by the Yamaha
Brewery is as follows: Water 39 percent, total nitrogen 3.8
percent, water-soluble nitrogen 2.6 percent, reducing sugars
7.0 percent, total sugars 10 percent, crude fi ber 12.5 percent,
ash (including 11 percent sodium chloride) 12 percent,
volatile acids 0.015 percent, total acids 1.2 percent, and
pH of water suspension 5.1. The composition of hamanatto
probably varies considerably.
“If hamanatto could be produced in dark red rather
than black color and the process modernized to bring the
cost more in line with other fermented soybean products, it
should have much wider acceptance and use.”
Note 1. This is the earliest document seen (Nov. 2011)
stating that Hamanatto [fermented black soybeans] were
made at Yamaya temple in Hamamatsu.
Note 2. This is the earliest document seen (Jan. 2012)
that uses the word “sticky” (or “stickiness,” etc.) to describe
Hamanatto. Address: Head of Meal Products Investigations,
Oilseed Crops Lab., NRRL, Peoria, Illinois.
352. Watanabe, Ken; Yoshikawa, Mitsuyoshi; Nonoguchi,
Yoshitaka; Kondo, Seigo. 1958. [Studies on Bacillus natto
protease. VI. Crystallization of an inhibitor of Bacillus natto
protease present in potato]. Nihon Nogei Kagakkai Shi (J. of
the Agricultural Chemical Society of Japan) 32(4):260-62.
April. [15 ref. Jap]
Address: Biochemical Lab., Hyogo Univ. of Agriculture,
Hyogo-ken, Japan.
© Copyright Soyinfo Center 2012
HISTORY OF NATTO AND ITS RELATIVES 148
353. Inoue, Norimasa; Oshima, Takeichi. 1958. Futatabi
nattô no eiseigaku-teki shiken [Further sanitary test of natto].
Eiyogaku Zasshi (Japanese J. of Nutrition) 16(3):91-92.
June. [2 ref. Jap; eng]
• Summary: Fourteen samples of natto were obtained from
the market, made by different makers in Tokyo. These
included 7 samples in rice-straw packages and the same
number on wood shavings. All were examined by isolation of
Aerobacter type bacteria, with the following results.
(1) Ten samples were found to contain Aerobacter
type bacteria (5 each straw and wood shaving packages).
(2) Among those ten, seven were identifi ed to contain
Aerobacter aerogenes, two to contain Aerobacter cloacae,
and one to contain Aerobacter mannanolyticus. Address:
National Nutritional Research Lab (Kokuritsu Eiyô
Kenkyûsho).
354. Perissé, J. 1958. La consommation des légumineuses
au Togo [The consumption of legumes in Togo]. Paris:
Offi ce de la Recherche Scientifi que et Technique Outre-Mer.
20 p. Cote de Classement No. 4019. Rapport demandé par
l’Organisation des Nations Unies pour l’Alimentation et
l’Agriculture. [6 ref. Fre]
• Summary: Togo is sandwiched between Ghana on the
east and Benin on the west. Prepared for FAO, this is the
report of surveys conducted among the fi ve major ethnic
groups in Togo concerning the legumes they consumed
and their nutritional contribution to each group’s diet.
One village from each group was surveyed in depth three
times in 12 months. The groups are listed here from south
to north: The Ouatchis eat mainly haricot niébé (Vigna
unguiculata), plus small amounts of peanuts. The Ewes eat
niébé (Kasake), Phaseolus lunatus (Kpakpankui), le pois
d’angole (nugune), and peanuts. The Cabrais or Kabres eat
(in order of importance) haricot niébé, peanuts, and neré
(Parkia biglobosa et Parkia oliveri). Starchy foods include
yam igname, taro, and manioc. A detailed description is
given of how the neré are cooked, dehulled, fermented, and
dried to make Soumbara [Soumbala]. The emigrant Cabrais
eat haricot niébé, le pois de terre (Voandzeia subterranea)
(Suè) (Bambarra groundnuts), peanuts, and neré (usually
consumed in fritters–beignets). The Mobas (in the far north
of Togo) eat the same legumes as the emigrant Cabrais.
Peanut meal is used in fritters.
Soy is mentioned only in the Conclusion (p. 17): “For
example, in the land the Outachis, it is probable that an
improvement of the protein ration will be obtained more
easily by an increase in the production of haricot niébé
[Vigna unguiculata] which will be automatically accepted
in the traditional form of abobo rather than asking the
people to consume néré or soya–foods that would clash with
the culinary traditions of thrift and with the tastes of the
consumers.”
Note: 1997. Jan. 23. According to the French Consulate,