This week's Stinky Foods star is natto, a food native to Japan that's made of fermented soybeans. This protein-rich food is an acquired taste with a consistency that must be seen to be appreciated. Click through the pages below to learn 10 weird facts about natto.
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1. Natto is typically eaten with rice or for breakfast.
Some Japanese restaurants even make sushi rolls with natto.
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2. Natto has a sticky coating that turns into a web when stirred.
When natto is stirred, its sticky coating gets even stickier and thicker, enabling diners to swirl it into a weblike paste.
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3. Businessmen taunt non-natives with the "natto challenge."
Japanese businessmen have a little fun at foreigners' expense with the "natto challenge." Since it's bad manners to refuse to try a food in Japan, pranksters will have prospective business partners visiting from out of the country try natto -- typically after a few rounds of sake. They'll extend a seemingly innocent invitation: "Try this -- foreigners can't eat it, you know."
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4. Natto is thought to make you strong.
The Japanese believe natto aids strength and contributes to longevity. Tenkai, a Buddhist priest, loved natto and supposedly lived to be 135.
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5. You can make natto spaghetti.
Those with adventurous palates can make natto spaghetti. This malodorous entree is made by tossing cooked spaghetti in butter and soy sauce, then topping it with natto, seaweed and scallions.
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6. Natto was a featured ingredient on "Iron Chef."
In a 1997 episode of the original "Iron Chef," the chefs had to work with natto as their secret ingredient.
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7. Natto dates back to the Edo Period.
The Japanese have eaten natto since the late years of the Edo Period, which lasted between 1600 and 1868. Back then, they packed prepared soybeans in rice straw and left it to ferment in a warm spot. That straw contains a bacteria called Bacillus subtilis natto, which transforms the beans into the sticky, stinky food we know today.
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8. Natto is quite healthy.
Natto is loaded with vegetable protein, vitamin B2, glutamic acid and enzymes. The beans' bacteria make these nutrients easy for the body to digest.
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9. A famous origin story for natto involves a warrior.
As the story goes, the Uesugi Kenshin, who lived between 1530 and 1578, was forced to lead his warriors into battle before they could consume the cooked soybeans they'd brought along and packed in straw. When they were finally able to eat, the beans had fermented, but the warriors were too hungry to discard them.
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10. Natto is packed with iron and manganese.
It's no wonder the Japanese link natto to vitality: it's packed with manganese, which helps the body fight free radicals, and iron, which aids in cell growth and oxygen transport.