Sugar Natto
Sugar natto is a candied bean confection, known in Japan as amanatto, made by simmering cooked pulses in sugar syrup until the syrup replaces most of the water inside the bean, then drying and dusting the beans with sugar. Despite the name it has nothing to do with fermented natto; the shared word refers to the bean, not to fermentation.
The process is osmotic dehydration. Cooked beans are held in a series of syrups of rising concentration, so that sugar diffuses inward while water diffuses out, gradually enough that the skin stays intact and the bean does not collapse. The result is a whole bean that keeps its shape and skin, is translucent and glossy inside, and is sweet all the way through rather than only on the surface. Because water activity has been brought down to around 0.7, the product is shelf stable at ambient temperature without refrigeration.
Adzuki is the classic bean, giving the deep red-brown grades, with kidney bean, broad bean, black soybean, chickpea and green pea also used. As a bakery ingredient it is valued for surviving a mix and a bake without disintegrating or bleeding colour, which is what distinguishes it from bean paste or from ordinary cooked beans. It travels loose in cartons and bags, is free flowing when correctly dried, and takes up moisture if left open.
We source bulk Sugar Natto from top China manufacturers for our partners. The manufacturers are in Shandong. A smaller requirement can ship in a combined container with other ingredients.
Please send the grade you need, the volume and your destination port, and we will come back with a solution and a price.
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- Function
- Bakery ingredient
Specifications
| Item | Specification |
|---|---|
| Appearance | Whole candied beans, skins intact, evenly coated |
| Colour | Characteristic of the bean type, uniform across the lot |
| Odour and taste | Sweet cooked bean, free from fermented or burnt notes |
| Moisture | 15.0% to 22.0% |
| Total sugars | 50.0% to 65.0% |
| Water activity | 0.70 max |
| Whole bean ratio | 95% min |
| Broken beans and fines | 5.0% max |
| Foreign matter | None detected |
| Lead | 0.2 mg/kg max |
| Total plate count | 1000 cfu/g max |
| Yeast and mould | 100 cfu/g max |
| E. coli | Absent in 1 g |
| Salmonella | Absent in 25 g |
Common Markets Grades
Grades are named for the bean: adzuki, large white kidney bean, black soybean, broad bean, chickpea and green pea are the usual range, and bean size within a type is graded because it determines both the candying time and the visual effect in the finished bakery product. Sugar level and residual moisture separate a soft, moist grade intended for mixing into dough from a firmer, drier grade used as a topping.
Surface finish is the other variable. Sugar-dusted grades carry a coating of fine granulated sugar and are the traditional presentation, glazed grades are dried without dusting and are glossy, and lightly oiled grades are made to stop the beans clumping in bulk. Reduced sugar versions using maltitol or a maltose syrup base are produced for lower sugar bakery lines, and coloured versions are made where a bright inclusion is wanted, though these depend on permitted colours in the destination market.
Applications
- Sweet bread and bun doughs, mixed in as a whole bean inclusion that survives proving and baking
- Topping for sweet buns, melon pan and Japanese style bakery
- Muffins, scones and cake batters, where the intact bean gives visual contrast
- Mochi, rice cakes and wagashi confectionery
- Cookies and biscuits as a whole inclusion
- Ice cream and frozen dessert inclusions, staying chewable at freezer temperature
- Snack and cereal bars as a sweet pulse component
- Retail confectionery, eaten on its own as a sweet
- Decorative use on tarts and dessert plates
China Manufacturers of Sugar Natto
Top Sugar Natto manufacturers in China.
- Dezhou Luying Foods Co., Ltd.2 ingredients in the directory
- Jiuhe Food (Dezhou) Co., Ltd.2 ingredients in the directory
Company names and logos are the property of the manufacturers themselves. They are listed here because our own directory records them as producing this ingredient. A listing is not an endorsement by them, and we do not represent them or speak on their behalf.
Regulatory Status
Candied beans are a composite food with no additive number or standard of identity of their own. In the United States production falls under the general requirements for a food manufacturing facility, with preventive controls and a full ingredient declaration; any colour or preservative used must be cleared for the use, and soya must be declared where soybeans are the base.
In the European Union the product sits under general food law and the food information regulation, with additives limited to those authorised for the relevant category under Regulation (EC) No 1333/2008 and declared by function together with name or E number. Sulphites used to protect the colour of pale bean grades must be declared above the labelling threshold, and this is the most common labelling point on the product. Codex has no vertical standard for candied pulses, so composition is set by specification between buyer and producer, while general contaminant and hygiene rules apply to the bean raw material.
Manufacturing Process
Dried beans are cleaned, graded and soaked in water until fully hydrated, then boiled or steamed gently until the cotyledon is soft while the skin remains whole. Cooking is deliberately slow, since a hard boil splits the skins and the split beans cannot be candied cleanly. The cooked beans are drained and cooled.
Candying follows in stages over one to several days. The beans are steeped in sugar syrup of a modest concentration, the syrup is drawn off and replaced with a stronger one, and the cycle repeats, with the syrup often heated between stages to raise its Brix. Raising the sugar level gradually prevents the osmotic shock that would shrivel the bean. When the internal solids reach the target the beans are lifted from the syrup, drained, and dried in a low temperature air dryer until the surface is tacky rather than wet. Sugar-dusted grades are then tumbled with fine granulated sugar in a coating drum, glazed grades are dried further without dusting. The finished beans are cooled, screened to remove fines and broken beans, metal detected and packed in moisture barrier bags.
