In NY, traditional Japanese fermented foods are garnering increased attention, and “fermentation” is a trending keyword for food

Kombucha, a fermented beverage effective for regulating the intestinal environment, has rapidly become popular throughout the USA in the last few years and is sold as a bottled beverage in various flavors. In New York, where homemade kombucha workshops have become high-profile, much attention is focused on fermented foods, and fermented foods unique to Japan, including natto, miso, and bran pickles, have been winning a lot of fans. Focusing on their exquisite flavor and benefits as health foods, an increasing number of star chefs are actively incorporating traditional Japanese fermented foods into their menus.

From the chef's personal refrigerator, he takes out large chunks of butter, pickled plums, pickles, and fermented foods such as natto and miso.
“This is fermented butter made in France. It's quite hard to find in American supermarkets, but needless to say, the difference in taste produced by fermentation is remarkable. Using homemade salted rice bran, I experiment with pickling various ingredients, including classic vegetables such as cucumbers and carrots, without being constrained by conventional wisdom. Not only the Japanese but also Westerners used to eat more fermented foods every day, but with the rise of convenient instant ingredients and so on, our intake of fermented foods is steadily decreasing these days.”

At these symposiums, there has been strong interest in Japanese fermented foods, as well as enthusiastic presentation of ways to incorporate natto, miso, and bran pickles into our daily diets in clever and delicious ways.
"Bacteria produced by fermenting foodstuffs not only help us maintain a good balance of intestinal bacteria and improve intestinal function, but also work to activate cells and prevent the invasion of pathogens. A lot of bacteria are vulnerable to heat and acid and thus never reach the intestines, but natto bacteria have the excellent feature of being resistant to heat and reaching the intestines quite easily. For most Westerners, natto is an unknown ingredient. Many people are just not comfortable with the stringy texture or smell, so I introduce natto through more accessible cooking methods, such as making it into fried rice.

Ann Yonetani, a close friend of Bouley who also appears at his fermentation symposiums, is a scientist with a PhD in microbiology from Columbia University who at the same time has earned unique recognition as an artisanal natto producer. In 2015, she started making her own natto based in Brooklyn, launching the natto brand NYrture New York Natto (www.nyrture.com). As a Japanese-American hailing from Philadelphia, Ann ate natto as a matter of course from an early age. After learning authentic techniques for making natto in Japan, she started selling her own made-by-hand natto in New York, creating a strong impression not only among Japanese-Americans, but also among others less familiar with natto. Now, her company sells natto nationwide (all 50 states) and 90% of customers are non-Japanese from diverse cultural backgrounds. NYrture’s website and Instagram not only educate on the effective functions of natto, but also present all kinds of recipes that use natto (natto on pizza and pancakes!).