Nattō is associated with both health/wellness food culture, which as we all know has fascistic roots and is associated with ideas of purity and national strength.
Further reenforcing this is that Nattō is considered a food only Japanese people like, a pillar (albiet a minor one) of ethnonational identity. Consider: 30% of people who eat it do not enjoy it but instead eat it based on aformentioned health reasons[1]. Offering nattō to people in order to see their repulsed reactions is an act of humiliation, reenforcing the superiority of the Japanese character and identifying an out-group.
Anyway it’s ok, a little mild. More stale coffee than cheese, I keep craving it though and am now fermenting my own
I’m not a big fermented food fan. Usually what I taste in fermented food more than anything else is farts. Like if farts could be condensed into solid form they would taste like kimchi.
I haven’t tried natto though so maybe it’s less farty
Smells of fresh vegetal decay and watery stale coffee. Very mildly, tastes similar but with added soybean