U.S. soy nutrition expert Pam Smith, RDN, connected with Katie Ayoub at Flavor & The Menu to discuss the nutritional and flavor-boosting qualities of natto and koji.
In the ongoing quest to dial up umami and deliver on the promise of craveability, it’s worth diving into the modern menu potential of two distinctive ingredients: koji and natto. We sat down with Pam Smith, RDN, founder of Orlando, Fla.-based Shaping America’s Plate, a menu/concept/flavor consultancy, to get her insights and ideas on both of these ingredients:
Katie Ayoub: Koji is having a moment in foodservice. What is its superpower?
Pam Smith: A moment, indeed! Chefs have wholeheartedly embraced the unique flavor of koji—the mold-inoculated grains behind miso, soy sauce, sake and mirin. Their passion is catching on. In their book, The Noma Guide to Fermentation, Noma chef René Redzepi and fermentation lab head David Zilber described koji as “indistinguishable from magic.”
This article was originally published in Flavor & The Menu.