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Where to get Japanese food like Natto?

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  1. #11

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    Jul 2010
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    NATTOU (納豆)

    I'd like to add a more specific question:

    Does anyone know whether the nattou sold in the aforementioned stores is fresh or not?

    By "fresh" I mean made locally, or made in Japan but not frozen on its way here.

    (AFAIK, nattou is akin to yoghurt and yakult in that it contains live bacteria which are extremely beneficial to our organism Hence I don't think it is wise to eat deep-frozen nattou as the bacteria would all have perished, wouldn't they? )


  2. #12

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    As far as I understand, bacteria survive freezing. They don't reproduce but they are not killed when frozen and reanimate when brought back to room temperature.

    Harmful bacteria in meats are not killed when you freeze them. Don't know why it would be any different for natto...


  3. #13

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    Thanks Geoff.

    Yet another reason I object to freezing food is because I have read that during the freezing-defreezing process the sharp little crystals of H2O in its solid aggregate state damage the structure of the cells.

    However, according to what you are saying, if the beneficial bacteria in nattou actually "come back to life"
    :bigparty
    then obviously the harm inflicted by the crystals isn't too severe..