Sugared Natto Black Bean
Sugared natto black bean is a candied whole black soybean, the black seeded form of Glycine max, cooked until tender and then saturated with sugar through a staged syrup infusion that leaves the bean whole and glossy.
The name refers to the confection called amanatto rather than to fermented natto, and no fermentation is involved. Black soybean differs from the small pulses used in the same confection in that it is high in protein and oil, around 35 percent protein and 17 percent fat on a dry basis, and comparatively low in starch. That composition gives the candied bean a softer, richer eating character than a candied adzuki, and it also means the bean absorbs syrup more slowly, so the infusion schedule is longer. The black seed coat carries anthocyanins, principally cyanidin 3 glucoside, which give the deep black surface and a purple tinge in the syrup.
Packing is loose, in cartons, pails and vacuum bags, either dry with a crystalline sugar coating or wet packed in residual syrup. The dry form keeps the beans free flowing and is the one used as a bakery inclusion, while the wet form is used where the bean is served as a dessert component. Water activity is held low enough for ambient stability, and the beans are kept out of humid storage because absorbed moisture dissolves the surface coating and makes the lot clump.
We source bulk Sugared Natto Black Bean from top China manufacturers for our partners. The manufacturer is in Shandong. A smaller requirement can ship in a combined container with other ingredients.
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- Function
- Bakery ingredient
Specifications
| Item | Specification |
|---|---|
| Appearance | Whole candied beans, evenly coated, free from foreign matter |
| Colour | Glossy black to purple black, uniform within the lot |
| Flavour and odour | Sweet, characteristic cooked black soybean, no beany, rancid or fermented note |
| Whole beans, intact seed coat | 88 percent minimum by weight |
| Total soluble solids | 68 to 76 degrees Brix |
| Moisture | 24.0 percent maximum |
| Total sugars | 45 percent minimum |
| Water activity | 0.78 maximum |
| pH | 5.8 to 7.0 |
| Lead | 0.2 mg/kg maximum |
| Total plate count | 1,000 cfu/g maximum |
| Yeast and mould | 50 cfu/g maximum |
| Escherichia coli | Negative in 1 g |
| Salmonella | Negative in 25 g |
Common Markets Grades
Bean size is the first grading line, with large black soybeans traded above small, and the percentage of whole beans with an unbroken seed coat specified, since split beans are the characteristic defect from an infusion run pushed too quickly. The dry sugar coated grade and the wet syrup packed grade are the two commercial forms.
Sugar level runs from a full sugar traditional grade down to reduced sugar versions in which part of the sucrose is replaced with maltitol or sorbitol, a substitution that lowers sweetness but raises water activity and shortens ambient shelf life. Some producers offer a soft high moisture grade for direct eating and a firmer, drier grade formulated to survive baking without releasing moisture into the surrounding dough. Salted grades, in which a small quantity of salt is carried in the final syrup to sharpen the sweetness, are a recognised variant in the black soybean line specifically.
Applications
- Bread and sweet roll doughs, folded in whole so the dark bean stays visible against the crumb
- Steamed buns, rice cakes and glutinous rice confections, distributed through the dough before steaming
- Chinese and Japanese pastry fillings, mixed with bean paste for textural contrast
- Cookies, muffins and cereal bars, used as a sweet legume inclusion
- Ice cream and frozen desserts, folded in cold where the low water activity limits ice formation around the bean
- New year and festival confectionery, where sweetened black soybean is a traditional component
- Bubble tea and dessert drinks, spooned in as a topping
- Cake and dessert decoration, scattered over cream, mousse and jelly surfaces
- Retail confectionery, packed and sold as a sweet bean snack in its own right
China Manufacturers of Sugared Natto Black Bean
Top Sugared Natto Black Bean manufacturers in China.
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
The product is a composite food rather than a food additive, so it has no E number and no additive listing in the United States. Manufacture falls under the general hygiene and process control rules, Regulation 852/2004 with the general food law in the European Union and 21 CFR Part 117 in the United States. Preservation rests on sugar concentration and low water activity supported by the cooking and drying steps, and those parameters are the ones documented as preventive controls.
Two ingredient level points matter for this line. First, soybean is a declarable allergen in both principal markets, listed in Annex II of Regulation 1169/2011 in the European Union and treated as a major food allergen under the Food Allergen Labelling and Consumer Protection Act in the United States, so a black soybean confection must be labelled accordingly and segregated from lines that are declared soya free. Second, any additive used carries its own status: potassium sorbate as E202 and sodium benzoate as E211 in the European Union, permitted in the United States under 21 CFR 182.3640 and 21 CFR 184.1733, and polyols used in reduced sugar grades, sorbitol as E420 and maltitol as E965, which attract a laxative effect statement above defined levels in the European Union. Any colour or iron salt used to fix the black coat must be a permitted additive in the destination market and declared on the label.
Manufacturing Process
Dry black soybeans are cleaned of stones and foreign seed, graded for size and steeped in cold water for a long soak, because the dense seed coat hydrates more slowly than that of a small pulse. They are then cooked with steam or in water until the cotyledon is tender through to the centre while the coat stays intact. Some producers add a small quantity of alkali or an iron salt to the cook water in the traditional method to fix the black colour, a step that is declared where it is used.
Cooked beans are drained and placed in sugar syrup at a low starting concentration. Over several days the syrup is drained and replaced with progressively stronger syrup, so that sugar diffuses into the cotyledon and water diffuses out slowly enough that the bean does not collapse. The oil and protein content of soybean slows this exchange relative to a starch bean, so the schedule runs longer and the finishing syrup is held warm to keep viscosity manageable. When the interior reaches the target solids, the beans are drained, spread on trays or a belt and dried in warm air until the surface is tacky. Dry grades are then tumbled with granulated sugar to build the crystalline coating, dried briefly a second time, cooled and packed. Wet packed grades are filled with a measured quantity of syrup and pasteurised in the container.
