Where does this come from, and can I check it?

Bacillus subtilis spores the beans and produces a slippery web of threads. The figure is taken from Food and Agriculture Organization, which is linked in full on this page. Every fact on Mondo Knows names its source rather than repeating an unsourced claim.

Is this really a food fact?

Yes. It sits on the Food shelf, one of 2,600 sourced facts grouped into space, animals, the human body, history, science and more. Category pages collect every fact in the same field.

What else can I read about it?

The links under the fact point to a quiz, game, puzzle or calculator on the same subject, and the shelf below shows related facts. The wording here is original, and quoted phrases are marked as quotations.

Mondo Knows Facts

Natto is a sticky fermented soybean

Bacillus subtilis spores the beans and produces a slippery web of threads Natto is made by steaming cooked soybeans and inoculating them with Bacillus subtilis, which ferments them in a warm place for around a day. The bacteria produce a polysaccharide that forms long sticky strands when the beans are stirred. The result is strongly savoury and usually eaten over hot rice with mustard. It sits in Mondo's food collection, one of 200 facts that each trace back to the reference below.

Where this comes from

Food and Agriculture Organization

Facts that can change over time are reviewed and updated. If something here looks wrong, Mondo would rather know than be confidently incorrect.

Go further

World Cultures trivia

More facts like this

Sushi began as a way to keep fishFish packed in salted rice fermented for months before the rice was thrown away Kombucha grows a rubbery cellulose sheetAcetic acid bacteria spin the mat that floats on the sweet tea Worcestershire sauce is a fermented seasoningAnchovies, molasses and spices mature in barrels for months before bottling Sourdough relies on wild yeast and lactic acid bacteriaLactobacilli sour the dough while wild yeasts generate carbon dioxide bubbles Lactic acid bacteria transform milk into yoghurtBacterial fermentation lowers pH to coagulate milk proteins into a thick gel Yeast converts sugars into carbon dioxide gasSaccharomyces cerevisiae consumes simple sugars to produce alcohol and carbon dioxide

Tags: natto, fermentation, japan

Natto is a sticky fermented soybean: the short answers

Where does this come from, and can I check it?: Bacillus subtilis spores the beans and produces a slippery web of threads. The figure is taken from Food and Agriculture Organization, which is linked in full on this page. Every fact on Mondo Knows names its source rather than repeating an unsourced claim.
Is this really a food fact?: Yes. It sits on the Food shelf, one of 2,600 sourced facts grouped into space, animals, the human body, history, science and more. Category pages collect every fact in the same field.
What else can I read about it?: The links under the fact point to a quiz, game, puzzle or calculator on the same subject, and the shelf below shows related facts. The wording here is original, and quoted phrases are marked as quotations.