Author: Justin Shelton

The wasabi you’ll find in most restaurants and grocery stores is a mixture of horseradish, mustard powder, and food coloring. The nasal-clearing properties of the horseradish and mustard come together to give you the illusion that you’re eating the real deal, and the food coloring gives it a green hue. Is wasabi from restaurants real? […]

Outside of Japan, real wasabi is difficult to find. The green paste that is usually served along with sushi in the U.S. is actually a mix of horseradish, mustard powder and food coloring. Does America have real wasabi? Almost all of the wasabi we eat in America is fake — about 99% of it isn’t […]

Although the traditional way of eating sushi is with wasabi, you don’t need to use extra. Many sushi rolls already have a small amount of wasabi n them so extra is not needed. What is the real purpose of eating wasabi with sashimi? Wasabi has antimicrobial properties which may have safeguarded Japanese sushi eaters over […]

4. Spicy or acidic seasonings, such as Japanese wasabi, chili sauce, lemon juice, vinegar and spirits, cannot kill parasites or bacteria; 5. The elderly, pregnant women, infants, young children and those with weak immunity should not eat sashimi. Is wasabi an anti parasite? Isothiocyanates (ITCs) make wasabi a natural anti-parasitic food. It is effective against […]

Peas have iron, protein, vitamins, and just because you fry them and spread wasabi all over them doesn’t make the nutrients magically disappear. This is a far better choice than potato chips, Doritos, Cheetos…… (name the fatty, tasty, crunchy bagged snack). Are wasabi peas better than crisps? Unlike many processed snack foods, wasabi peas do […]

Wasabi’s taste is very similar to horseradish, quite pungent. It is green because that’s the colour of the root before it is harvested. Wasabi, is called “Japanese horseradish.” So the closest taste to compare is western horseradish. What does wasabi sauce taste like? It is similar in taste to hot mustard or horseradish rather than […]

As John Burgess says, wasabi’s heat comes from Allyl isothiocyanate , while chili’s heat comes from Capsaicin . Allyl isothiocyanate is a much smaller chemical than capsaicin, so it’s more volatile, and is therefore more likely to enter your nose as a gas, and irritate smell receptors there. Is wasabi worse than chili? … chili […]

The wasabi receptor, known as TRPA1, doesn’t initiate the itch signals by itself. Some nerve cells with the TRPA1 receptors — but not all — have other types of receptors that initially respond to these itchy compounds. These itch receptors are the first responders of sorts, initially detecting an irritant. Why does my head tingle […]