That Spicy Green Paste Next to Your Sushi Is Probably Not Wasabi

**Neo** · 16-07-2016, 08:35 PM

I’ll take an unagi roll, some tuna nigiri, and a side of lies, please.

The dab of spicy green paste that accompanies your sushi may go by the name wasabi, but it’s actually something else entirely.

What we call wasabi is almost always just a mix of horseradish, mustard, and a bit of green dye.

Because of similarities in their chemical compounds, which you can see detailed below in a new video from the American Chemical Society’s Reactions series, horseradish makes a less-spicy (but passable) substitute for wasabi. Why aren’t sushi restaurants just serving the real thing?

Wasabi has a reputation as one of the hardest crops to successfully farm. It doesn’t like direct sunlight, but doesn’t want complete shade either. It does well only in mild climates that aren’t ever very hot or cold. And, even when you do manage to get wasabi to grow, it tends to do best in small plots, not large farms.

Given how hard it is to grow, and how often it fails, it’s no big surprise that real wasabi is extremely expensive, costing about £121 per kilogram.

Restaurant guests aren’t used to paying for the condiment at all, much less paying more for it than for the sushi itself. So instead of real wasabi, a much cheaper substitute is served—one that people won’t be able to distinguish from the real thing because they’ve never had the real thing.

But how can you tell if your wasabi is real? If you’re eating real wasabi, you almost certainly grated it yourself or had it grated in front of you. If it came out in a paste on the plate, then you probably had some lightly-dyed (but still tasty) horseradish.

**baldrick** · 16-07-2016, 08:37 PM

Originally Posted by Neo

costing about £121 per kilogram

less that hydro , so not worth farming it - can you smoke it

**Pragmatic** · 16-07-2016, 08:52 PM

Wasabi, tried it once, if it was genuine? Fcuking horrible. Horse radish sauce much better.

**thaimeme** · 16-07-2016, 09:10 PM

Originally Posted by Pragmatic

Wasabi, tried it once, if it was genuine? Fcuking horrible. Horse radish sauce much better.

You might clarify, as Eutrema Jaonicum [Wasabi] belongs to the Brassicacae [horseradish root, et al] family as well.

**BaitongBoy** · 16-07-2016, 09:58 PM

Is there a massive class action lawsuit for compensation?...Emotional "damage," and all?...

**Topper** · 16-07-2016, 10:03 PM

A friend grew some horseradish in his garden when I lived in Seattle and gave us a chunk of the root (which is the part you grate). The GF started grating it in the kitchen and the smell literally ran us all out of the house.

As I recall, we mixed it with ever increasing amounts of mayo and sour cream until we got a mixture that we felt wouldn't kill the younger kids.

**wasabi** · 16-07-2016, 10:21 PM

Originally Posted by BaitongBoy

Is there a massive class action lawsuit for compensation?...Emotional "damage," and all?...

I'll have to get My dried Wasabi peas checked out, they are packaged in China

**BaitongBoy** · 16-07-2016, 10:25 PM

^ Are you the "real deal," mate?...

**sabang** · 17-07-2016, 12:00 AM

Still tastes good enough, compared to something that costs 120 quid a kilo.

**DrB0b** · 17-07-2016, 12:10 AM

Is that something people didn't know? I though that wasabi not being wasabi was as well known as truffle oil not having anything to do with truffles. Don't people check the ingredients of what they're eating?

OTOH, 100 quid a kilo is hardly expensive, Beluga caviar is £3,000 per kilo and I could, given the chance, get through a kilo of that in an hour. How long do you think it's going to take you to get through a kilo of wasabi?

**Neverna** · 17-07-2016, 01:04 AM

I never buy wasabi. I only ever eat it (or a spicy green paste) in Japanese restaurants, as I did today. I really don't care if it is "genuine" wasabi or not.

**DrB0b** · 17-07-2016, 01:14 AM

Originally Posted by Neverna

I never buy wasabi. I only ever eat it (or a spicy green paste) in Japanese restaurants, as I did today. I really don't care if it is "genuine" wasabi or not.

As with cheap cocaine as long as I get that tingle in the nose and the head rush I don't care what it's made from.

**BaitongBoy** · 17-07-2016, 04:01 AM

Just like fake diamonds...Zircon, innit?...

**patsycat** · 17-07-2016, 04:18 AM

Zirconium. Cheapskate!!

Wasabi - horrible.

Cheap cocaine - horrible.

Diamonds - nice

horseradish - nice

Good cocaine - nice

Toffees - everyone likes them!!

No need for a silly poll.

**misskit** · 17-07-2016, 05:59 AM

That is a surprise. I'm curious if Japanese people know that wasabi paste isn't real wasabi. Surely, someone would have mentioned that to me in all these years.

In Tokyo, buying fresh wasabi root is like buying gold, but in the countryside it can be had for little. It's not uncommon to find some growing along a creek.

Good stuff but doesn't taste like the paste much at all.

**wasabi** · 20-07-2016, 11:40 PM

Originally Posted by BaitongBoy

^ Are you the "real deal," mate?...

Got the 2 kg Wasabi Peas out and the brand name is Yutaka

Purchased via Amazon

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