[Sca-cooks] Wasaaaaabi!

[Vincent Cuenca]

> >
> >I read recently that a lot of the wasabi used in the U.S. was
> >colored horseradish. . .
> >There is someone in California, now, who's growing the stuff,
> >however, so we may yet see the good stuff start to show up.
> >
> >Alban
>
>Alban where in the world did you read that??  I find it hard to believe
>that
>anyone could be fooled like that.  There is almost nothing you can do to
>horseradish that would give it the same consistency and have the amount of
>'hot' remaining.
>
>Olwen who likes her wasabi straight with pickled ginger

There was an article in "Saveur" Magazine about a year or so back, about a
guy in IIRC Southern Oregon who was growing wasabi rhizomes.  He had to
engage in a fair amount of industrial spying to learn the process.  The
article does state that the wasabi commercially available in the US is a
mixture of mustard, horseradish, and colorings, with the actual wasabi
content being minimal.  Actual fresh ground wasabi is a lighter green color
and has a different flavor than the stuff we're used to.  I'll have to see
if I can dig the thing up this weekend.

Vicente
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It's great to be known, but it's even better to be known as strange.
-Takeshi Kaga



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