Wasabi Paste made with Real Wasabi

80 gram tube - Shizuoka, Japan

One of the great things about ingredients is that we always have to taste-test before we share them with you. And often, we have to test them more than once to ensure that they are as good as the first impression.

First impressions are so important and are often why one falls in love. In this tube, the love continues, even though it makes my inner being pucker up and sometimes even tear up in pain. It's a good pain, and that's why I keep going back for more!

Ever wonder why Wasabi, that fiery green paste and indispensable sushi accompaniment, tastes so much like horseradish?

Here's why: because it IS horseradish!

Although we've learned to call it Wasabi, what we're served in sushi restaurants in North America and largely in Japan, too  is nearly always a mixture of horseradish and green coloring, with perhaps a little dry mustard, or possibly, a very little real Wasabi added in.

Why not offer the real deal? Because real wasabi, Wasabia japonica, is very rare and super pricey. Even in its native Japan, demand constantly outstrips supply, and it's expensive to import and notoriously tricky to grow.

Some of you might remember we had Northwest-grown Wasabi for a short period of time. That experience gave us insight into what freshly harvested, freshly ground wasabi can be! Nothing like it!

If you get the chance to grind some freshly harvested wasabi, do it! Nothing replaces a good grind of Wasabi. It is special!

Way back then, I shared some of our Wasabi with Chef Morimoto, and he was impressed by the much smaller and younger rhizomes than what he was used to by the aromatic fundamentally fresh flavor of fun found in this food!

So what is one to do when fresh is not an option?

We found some in a squeezable tube! The paste is made from fresh wasabi from the mountainous terrain around Izu in Shizuoka Prefecture where there is a plethora of clean, flowing water - essential for cultivating the rhizome wasabi.

The process to create this gem of containment took more than 3 years to develop. And we have spent over half a year taste-testing and testing longevity. Taking this amount of time, we had opened a tube, enjoyed it just opened wasabi.

Then 6 months later I shared some with sushi, and though it had lost some of its punch, the aroma, the volatiles were still present.

And the wasabi had the characteristics that you look for, invigorating, enhancing, a good bite without burning heat, flavor that allows your senses to open up and savor the food that it is paired with!

Our friend Marc goes out of his way to find fresh wasabi and was totally, like, this can't be any good, compared it with his wasabi, and was shocked and awed and has been bugging us to get it for him. Marc, - your tube is on its way when you read this - he told me he doesn't like hot foods and says wasabi makes his mouth come alive.

FYI: When you eat wasabi, a compound called allyl isothiocyanate is released. This compound stimulates the nerve receptors in your nasal passages, leading to a sensation of heat or burning. The reaction can cause your eyes to water and your nose to feel like it's clearing up, almost like a nasal decongestant. Just not the same heat like a pepper.