Kawashimaya Natto Starter Powder 3g (0.1oz), To Make 10-30kg of Homemade Natto, Bacillus Subtilis From Soybean Extract

I have made natto from store bought natto, decided to try making it from the starter. My first batch worked so far, natto seems to be pretty good. I am keeping the starter in the freezer until I do my next batch. Here's how I made it in Instant Pot. 1. Soaked the soybeans overnight. 2. Cooked it in Instant Pot on Beans setting for 45 min. (Or High Pressure for 45 min). 3. Strained the water out. 4. While beans are still warm, added the starter and mixed. (I got too excited and added 3 scoops, but one scoop would have been sufficient). 5. Set it on 'Yogurt' setting for 24 hours. Yogurt is 8 hours by default, so adjusted the time to 24 hours. I usually let the natto stay in the fridge overnight after making it. It can stay in the fridge for a few weeks. No issues with the starter, hopefully it will keep working since i'm keeping it in the freezer. It needs to be added to the beans while they are still hot to get activated. Adding it to the cold beans will not activate it. update after 6 months of purchasing. I kept the starter in the freezer, and just made another successful batch of natto, the starter is still alive! The key to activate it is to add it to the soybeans while they are still hot, right after draining them. It does look like a tiny amount, but it's plenty to produce a great natto batch.

This is an Excellent Brand of Natto Bacteria! Easily 5-Stars from me. During the pandemic it was still not sold in America. So I had ordered it directly from Japan, doing which I had to pay perhaps more for shipping than the actual price of the product. However, I got very good experience using it. I had then suggested the company to try and sell through Amazon. They actually did that after a few months and then notified me via E-mail that they had made the arrangement with Amazon. I last purchased it from Amazon in June-2022. Because I make only for myself, a 10-gm packet lasts 9 to 10 months. That packet is nearly finished and I have to order again soon. I have very nearly perfected my method of Natto making now but for that I had to read a lot on the internet. Some of the things I read really helped me. Let me give a few tips myself below: (1) For Natto, use the "smaller sized soybeans". If you are buying in the USA, then "Laurasoybeans.com" is a very good place to buy, though I am not sure whether they also sell through Amazon. There they clearly show via pictures the "regular size soybeans" and the "natto soybeans" which are half the size. I usually buy their 13-lb bag Natto Soybeans, which I have found is very cost effective and lasts many months. (2) Clean the beans and then soak them for at least 18-hours, preferably 24-hours. Then "steam them". Never "boil" the beans under water - just steam them. This is something I learned by reading someone. Using an Instapot, I steam them under full pressure for 1-hour and then switch off but let it remain under pressure for another 20-minutes. I start with 250-grams of dry Natto Soybeans. (3) Towards the end of (2) above, I let the Natto Spores develop for about 10-minutes in a very small cup of distilled water warmed to around 40-deg C (104-deg F). I use "3 full scoops" of the small spoon they provide. I have found that for us who are not that experienced, putting more Natto powder helps! NOTE: All utensils and containers have to be fully sanitized by using boiling water before start. (4) When the Instapot is opened, I wait till the temperature drops to around 60-deg C (140-deg F) before trying to put in the developed natto water (sanitizing the thermometer tip!). After that temperature reaches 60C/140F, I transfer to the main fermentation container and add the Natto Water, stirring all around so that each bean gets a bit of it ideally. (5) Then I cover lightly with Cheesecloth (so that the natto bacteria can breathe air) and then ferment for 28-hours. I use a Japanese made Natto Maker for it. (6) After 28-hours I take it out, transfer it to a couple of plastic containers and then keep it on the "fridge" side of the refrigerator (not "freezer") for 24 to 36 hours. (7) After that I distribute it to very small plastic containers and then keep them in the "freezer" to be consumed over two weeks or so. For long storage they have to be in the freezer. (8) Starting with 250-grams of dry Natto Soybeans finally gives me around 600-grams of Natto. Using 16 small plastic containers gives me approximately 37-grams in each, all independently packed to be opened one a day. (9) I tried the "6-Qt. Instant Pot Ultra" for fermentation also but there it is a lot trickier because their "temperature control" is very poor (unless I have a bad one). By careful measurement I have seen wild swings of 10-degF both ways and that is very bad for Natto making. Therefore, you cannot directly do it in their pot. That's what I have found. I have wasted a lot of soybeans trying to do it that way. My purpose was to do a lot more than the Japanese Natto Maker will let me (it is really small) but my Instant Pot experiment uniformly failed. However, I have finally done it by using "another pot" inside their main pot and putting some water at the bottom of the main pot! The "water inside" stabilizes the temperature very well. I have measured the temperature of the water independently using a thermometer and it really holds steady. I use the Yogurt Setting, keeping the Temperature at 111-degF. This time I ferment for about 38-hours, covering the Lid as usual but "no Pressure" is used (that opening has to be there for bacteria breathing); I don't put the pressure weight. The second pot I purchased through Amazon is slightly smaller in diameter than the main pot and fits easily. It also has its own ventilated cover which I put on top but the "cloth covering" is there anyway here also. This method has really succeeded. Now I can start with 320-grams of dry Natto Soybeans and get the same results. The amount I finally get back is 20-days worth at 40-grams a day. (10) Do not make the Natto too deep, because breathing is required by the bacteria. You should ferment in a "wider pot" but not too deep. The Japanese Natto Maker Pot is too small in diameter and so, I cannot make too much in it at one time, though as a Natto Maker itself is really good (much better than Instant Pot). I wish they had a similar pot with "twice the area", which is really 1.4-times the current Diameter. Then we could have made twice the amount in one shot, without having to go "deep". I have searched a lot but the bigger size I want for the Natto Maker of this brand is not available anywhere. Hope this will help people. I just gave my own experience of making. Irrespective of what I have written above, read articles as much as you can by experienced Natto Makers and the real experts! However, the review was only for the Kawashima Natto Bacteria here. You can buy it with full confidence. For just one or two people consuming, it is perhaps best to buy the 10-gram packet. That way you will always get the latest batch and also not expire in storage. This is something I would rather buy directly from Japan but the shipping costs are too much. By the way, I store the packet on the "fridge side" of the refrigerator, to keep it cool through the months. Don't keep it on the "freezer side" because the bacteria might die. Just fridge side might be all right I think. I don't know what Kawashima suggests for normal storage but for me keeping it on the fridge side has worked. NOTE [UPDATING above on April 24th, 2023] : I wrote in (3) above that I use "3 full scoops" of the small spoon they provide. Unfortunately, Kawashima does not provide any spoon. The spoon I have is from another brand I had tried before. I had forgotten about that completely while writing the above but remembered later. I am not sure why Kawashima does not provide a spoon in each packet. That is a huge omission I think. Requesting Kawashima to either include a Natto Bacteria Spoon with each packet or at least sell it as an accessory. Thanks. NOTE [UPDATING above on May 24th, 2024] : I am noticing that Kawashima is providing the Plastic Spoon now to use measured amounts of the Natto Bacteria. I believe that they have listened to my request in the matter and maybe those of other users too. Thanks Kawashima.

It works! Thanks to the reviewers here for their tips. The product video was also good with the step by step. I used Instant Pot to pressure cook beans and used the yogurt feature for fermentation. Thank you Kawshimaya for making this available to buy!

If I could give 6 Stars I would! First time making natto and complete sucess. I made black bean natto and it came out amazing!

This natto starter made delicious natto. Using one small scoop from the included spoon, I was able to make a batch from 1 lb of dried soybeans—so it produces quite a large amount of natto.

I am getting consistently excellent results using Kawashimaya Natto Starter. I am careful to sterilize everything I use by boiling hot water and pouring it in vessel I use and utensils. I SOAK 2 cups Laura Natto soy beans for 24 hours, drain Rinse, then pressure cooker 1/2 an hour with 15 minute natural release. **mix 2 motto spoons(tiny spoon that comes with starter) starter with 4 Tblsp. Of BOILED BUT **COOLED DOWN**purified water. **PUT this MIXED SOLUTION on the Natto Bean immediately after done cooking in the pressure cooker. MIX THOURUGHLY with beans. NOW Ferment for 24 MORE hours at 102°. (I use a Luvelle yogurt maker which has an automatic Timer upto 36 hours)Then refidgerate for 6+ hours upto 3 days to stop the fermentation and age it. temperatures can very by season's and your indoor temperature. This sounds like a lot of work but its simple: to measure out 2 cups of Natto beans and put in a generous amount of water to soak the beans 24 hours, rinse, put in Instant Pot 1/2 hour(natural release) make solution while you have natto beans cooking, when cooked mix solution through natto beans. FERMENT 24 hours, refrigerated 6+ hours. Lasts 4-5 days in fridge when done. Can freeze them and use the frozen ones to make new batch. Natto is an Excellent superfood. With Nattokinase. Helps with Vitamin D absorption. Hope this helps if your brand new to making Natto. Fresh is best. Combines well with adding 2-4Tbls of your fresh Natto to Basmati rice onion, ginger, garlic, Turmeric(pinch of blak pepper increases turmeric absorption by 2,000%) and some veggies. This is a Congee recipe gentle and healing if you dont feel well, elderly, or young and need gentle foods.

This works beautifully. I make natto every five days or so. Comes out perfect every time.

Never succeed with this product with many times even strictly following the instructions. I doubt the spores are dead when shipped. Very disappointed.

I am new to making my own Natto, I made two batches with this sachet, one was successful and the second wasn't. I have no idea why but I assume it was my process otherwise I wouldn't have managed to get a good batch first. I am waiting for it to become available to buy again so I can have another go, as I really love natto and knowing how fantastically healthy it is for you, I want to keep producing it.

Very authentic results; potent fermentation that is easily activated and produces mild, pleasant flavour

Finalmente ho trovato uno starter molto buono e che funziona. Il fatto che sia poi prodotto in Giappone aumenta la sua considerazione. Nella confezione non è specificato la quantità per soya. Probabilmente in Giappone variano a secondo del prodotto che vogliono ottenere. Io uso 1 gr per 1 kg di soya cotta. Di solito ne preparo 400 gr che è già tanto. Ne mangio 50/ 100 gr al giorno.

Would buy again.