New York Natto Organic - Japanese Probiotic Superfood made fresh in NYC - Certified Organic - 4 jars, 8 ounces (220 grams) per jar

[Note: I uploaded to this page one photo of the two jars (out of four in the package) from my first order that had been smashed during shipping; perhaps not very obvious in the photo are the hundreds of small shards of glass, which illustrate, to me, exactly how poorly the jars were packaged (in terms of surviving impacts that would tend to smash them together. I am very pleased to report that the company has since radically improved their methods of packing the jars for shipping!]The small bean organic natto itself is great (I have also bought this brand of natto locally when visiting NYC on my work-related trips, from local Manhattan shops, such as those at Essex St. Market.) However, the packing of the box that was shipped to me (just 230 miles) for my first order via UPS was a disaster.The package containing the four bottles of natto for my first order arrived here last week via UPS, and the exterior of the package looked perfect, with zero signs of any damage or abuse. However, upon opening the box, we discovered that the jars had not been packed in a way that would have protected them from damge or impact, and two of the four jars had totally shattered, with the natto inside surrounded by thousands of shards of broken glass. I suspect that their packing and shipping dept. staff must have taken lessons from Walmart.com, for every time that I have ordered food items (e.g., pesto, pasta sauces, etc.) in glass jars from Walmart.com, half of the jars have been broken upon arrival.The good news is that the two remaining jars, while they were covered with broken glass and squished natto beans, were, after a very thorough washing and rinsing, found to be in perfect shape, and they are now sitting in my refrigerator. However, the good news is that I promptly contacted the vendor about the problem, and they quickly sent me two replacement jars of the same type of small bean organic natto that I had ordered, to replace the two shattered jars, and the replacement jars arrived just fine via UPS. The company had advised me, prior to shipping the replacement bottles, that they had quite radically improved their packing methods for the jars, and, sure enough, when I opened the replacement package, I found that each jar was wrapped in two layers of bubble wrap, which is the only sane thing to do when shipping glass bottles or jars nowadays. (Now that the replacement jars have arrived, and since they were packed much more wisely, I have raised the star rating of my review up to the 5 stars that this company's products deserve!)BTW, I am a big fan of fermented foods, and I have been eating both miso (another Japanese fermented foodstuff) and natto regularly for the past 30 years or longer, and have even made my own natto at times from spore cultures available on the market. For the past couple of years, I have been eating natto daily, at least one teaspoon every morning with my breakfast, and much larger quantities at times, and I usually eat miso on a daily basis as well.When my work-related travels bring me to San Francisco, CA to meet with clients, which is once or twice per year, I always stay in Japantown, and I have frequently had the amusing experience that when I visit one of the numerous Japanese grocery stores near my hotel to stock up on natto, I will be approached by tourists (usualy older women) from Japan who are visiting SF, and they will look amazedly at the large pile of natto containers in my grocery basket, and then tell me something along the lines of "I am 100% Japanese, and still live in Japan, and I have known about natto all my life, but I cannot eat it, for I hate the odor and the slimy sticky texture!". Then they will usually add that they envy me for eating natto, because they have always heard that eating natto offers tremendous health benefits and ensures longevity!BTW, as an R&D and consulting scientist-engineer, I am considered in certain niches worlwide to be an expert on certain esoteric kinds of "elite" fermentative bacteria (no, not the Bacillus subtilis bacteria used in making natto, but rather some purple fermentative bacteria that are far more rare and exotic...) and the applications of these esoteric microbes in human and animal nutrition, agriculture, toxic waste remediation, and odor control (such as in farming, at waste landfills and in wastewater treatment plants). From this vantage point, I can tell you without hesitation that I consider "real" natto (such as this New York Natto brand (as opposed to cheap commerical natto sold in some Asian grocery stores in the US that may have been pasteurized or "deodorized"), to be one of the very few TRUE superfoods available in the world today!Speaking of superfoods: In addition to my holding a graduate degree in the sciences, I also trained in Asian acupuncture at the graduate school level for many years, and from this vantage point, as well as my earlier-mentioned vantage point of being a multidisciplinary scientist-engineer and an expert on certain types of fermented foods, I can tell you that real natto (such as this product) is one of the few superfoods that, if eaten on a daily basis, will strongly raise the levels of beneficial chi (aka prana) in the body, resulting in greater levels of health, day-to-day energy (chi), and well-being!

This was my first foray into Natto. I was apprehensive, because in pictures it looked very slimy, pulling very long threads.The threads were indeed there. You pull a spoonful and these threads stretch out of the jar indefinitely. They do not break away on their own. I worked on it until I learned to serve it. The taste was surprisingly acceptable. Like slightly smoked black beans, even though it is made of soy beans and I don't think there is any smoke that goes into it. I feel a bit "refreshed" after this first serving. Maybe that's just my imagination. I will see how it feels over the next few days.

Amazing! High quality, thanks a lot!

I have never had natto before, but needed vitamin K2 to help with calcium absorption, and this is the best source by far. The first time I tried it I was repulsed by the smell and sliminess. I mixed it with vegetables and rice, but that didn't help. Then I poured balsamic vinegar all over it and managed to get it down. That was last night. Tonight I thought of how vinegar made it more palatable and was wondering what could cover up some of the taste when suddenly I thought, "Ketchup!" When I was a kid, my parents let me put ketchup on any food I didn't like. Well, it still works. I added a little rice, balsamic, and garlic, and then covered it with ketchup. No problem eating it! Now I can get my K2 and actually enjoy it. Maybe eventually I'll adjust to the taste and forego the ketchup, as I eventually did as I grew up, but for now, this is good enough. I may even add something crunchy to the mix--I can see this becoming a treat I'll look forward to.As far as shipping goes, everything was expertly packed. The box was crushed on one side, but nothing was broken. I had it delivered to the greater DC suburbs, and it took 3 days. When I opened it, it was all still cold.

When my stomach doesn’t run to accept food, I go to this one and it accepts it

organic product.

This is a very good quality product. Tasty and very healthy. I've seen that some complained about not being able to open jars...I had the same problem but after struggling with the first jar, I ran hot tap water over the 2nd jar lid and it opened right up...I held the jar in a position that let the hot water get under the sides of the lid. I am guessing that the lids were difficult to open both from the fermentation pressure and the stickiness of the natto gluing the lid shut. Hot water did the trick! Great product and worth the extra effort. I'm glad the jars were sealed good....no product to leak out in shipping. Love this product and will definitely buy again.

I was worried about this costly product not living up to my expectations. Actually, while it’s still expensive, the product is very high-quality and has lasted me longer than I thought it would. I’m used to getting natto from the little Styrofoam containers… these jars contain several servings each (about three or four) and keep their freshness for a long time in the refrigerator. While I’d prefer to save money, the drive time for me to get to a an Asian retailer is too far, so these will fit the bill. Awesome for getting your probiotics and vitamin K! One important difference between the Styrofoam containers and these glass jars is that you don’t get the little packets of flavoring that come with the Styrofoam. That’s OK, because those packets often contain chemicals I don’t want to ingest. You can make your own sauces with a Google search for a recipe, or buy some Umi plum vinegar or Asian mustard and sesame oil. Lots of toppings ideas online. Top with a few sliced scallions, or seaweed flakes or bonito. For an easy on the go mini meal, I microwave one of those little cups of instant rice for one minute and put a scoop of natto on top. Enjoy!