Half a year ago, I discovered natto and made it once a week for 2 months. By natto standards, it came out mediocre, but I still ate it due to novelty. I tried store packets which tasted a lot better than my own. Store packets are too expensive so not a long-term solution.
Then I read that it's very difficult to find the correct soybean type here in America, let alone at an affordable price. I bought the soybeans from the bulk containers at Winco foods. I almost bought a box of organic non-GMO smaller sized soybeans for 40 bucks on eBay. I think that's a decent price, but it's still not the Japanese type that's used in the commercial products. Thus I wasn't motivated enough to try out.
I did a ton of Internet research including reading some academic papers on natto making methodology. I should organize and share that information. I tried making this natto with sweet yam, hoping it would come out to less bitter. Unfortunately the opposite occurred.
After those 2 months, I stopped making anymore. I still have 2 tubes of natto powder in my fridge, unused. I want to eat it again for health reasons, but I dislike the taste of my homemade natto. So much for initially planning it to be part of my staple diet.
The taste is just too strong of ammonia and rotten. The store-bought tasted fine, but I'm just not satisfied with buying the expensive packets. Given the health benefits, it's arguably worth it, so I guess that's my loss. Hopefully I will be motivated enough to buy that box of smaller sized eBay soybeans and try making it again. Perhaps you guys have a better source of natto soybeans?
This is sort of a rant, but maybe others share my experience. You are not alone, lol.