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Not familiar with natto? Shame on you! Natto is the fermented soy bean “snack” loved throughout the Kanto region for its supposed health benefits that outweigh the questionable flavor and strong smell, which is optimistically described as “cheesy and pungent” and otherwise described by detractors with violent gagging noises.

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After hearing that the notoriously sticky, slimy fermented bean treat was slowly gaining a foothold among health fanatics in the U.S., we decided to experiment combining natto with other foods to find the perfect companion consumable that would make the beans more palatable.

So, donning our hazmat suits, we entered the RocketNews24 food lab to conduct our tests. After producing various corrosive, poisonous or unstable substances, we finally found one natto and food combination that was not only safe to eat, but also tasty:

That combination was natto and matcha ice cream, a perennial favorite in Japan and the U.S. alike.

▼ Natto and matcha ice cream. First, apart:

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▼And now aaaall mixed in together!

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Amazingly, the matcha ice cream substantially subdues the overwhelming natto smell and pushes the natural soybean flavor to the forefront, making for a surprisingly pleasant, fluffy original ice cream flavor. On top of that, it’s pretty good for you!

With this new ice cream flavor, natto is now poised to take North America by storm as the next health food that tastes pretty good once mixed with totally unhealthy ice cream – which sort of defeats the purpose, but who’s complaining when ice cream is involved?

You heard it here first, folks!

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[ Read in Japanese ]