User:Plantdrew/Wasabi

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Wasabi (わさび（山葵）, originally 和佐比) is a condiment used in Japanese cuisine. Wasabi was traditionally prepared from the rhizomes of the wasabi plant (Eutrema japonicum), but currently is usually prepared from horseradish to which green food coloring has been added. Wasabi has an extremely strong, hot flavor. Its hotness is more akin to that of a hot mustard than that of the capsaicin in a chili pepper, producing vapours that stimulate the nasal passages more than the tongue. Both horseradish and rhizomes of the wasabi plant contain the compound allyl isothiocyanate which is responsible for this effect.

True wasabi and western wasabi[edit]

Grated wasabi root on a metal oroshigane grater
Imitation wasabi paste prepared from horseradish

Wasabi is difficult to cultivate (see below), and that makes it quite expensive. Due to its high cost, a common substitute is a mixture of horseradish, mustard, starch and green food coloring. Outside of Japan, it is rare to find real wasabi plants. Often packages are labeled as wasabi, but the ingredients do not actually include wasabi plant. Although the taste is similar between wasabi and horseradish, they are easily distinguished. In Japan, horseradish is referred to as seiyō wasabi (西洋わさび, "western wasabi").[1] In the United States, true wasabi is generally found only at specialty grocers and high-end restaurants.[2]

Etymology[edit]

The two kanji characters "山" and "葵" do not correspond to their pronunciation: as such it is an example of gikun (meaning, not sound). The two characters actually refer to the mountain Asarum, as the wasabi plant's leaves resemble those of a member of Asarum species, in addition to its ability to grow on shady hillsides. The word, in the form 和佐比, appeared in 918 in The Japanese Names of Medical Herbs (本草和名 Honzō Wamyō). Spelled in this way, the particular kanji are used for their phonetic values only, known as ateji (sound, not meaning — opposite of gikun).

Uses[edit]

Wasabi is generally sold as a dried powder in large quantities, or as a ready-to-use paste in tubes similar to travel toothpaste tubes.[3]. The dried powder and ready-to-use paste are prepared from horseradish rather than the root of the wasabi plant. When the root is served in restaurants, a paste is prepared when the customer orders, and is made using a grater to grate the root; once the paste is prepared, it loses flavor in 15 minutes.[4] In sushi preparation, sushi chefs usually put the wasabi between the fish and the rice because covering wasabi until served preserves its flavor.

Because the burning sensations of wasabi are not oil-based, they are short-lived compared to the effects of chili peppers, and are washed away with more food or liquid. The sensation is felt primarily in the nasal passage and can be quite painful depending on amount taken.

Legumes (peanuts, soybeans, or peas) may be roasted or fried, then coated with wasabi powder mixed with sugar, salt, or oil and eaten as a crunchy snack. Inhaling or sniffing wasabi vapor has an effect like smelling salts, a property exploited by researchers attempting to create a smoke alarm for the deaf. One deaf subject participating in a test of the prototype awoke within 10 seconds of wasabi vapor being sprayed into his sleeping chamber.[5] This was "rewarded" with the 2011 Ig Nobel Prize in Chemistry to Makoto Imai, Naoki Urushihata, Hideki Tanemura, Yukinobu Tajima, Hideaki Goto, Koichiro Mizoguchi and Junichi Murakami for determining the ideal density of airborne wasabi (pungent horseradish) to wake people in event of an emergency.

The wasabi plant[edit]

Wasabi
Wasabi
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Plantae
(unranked):
Angiosperms
(unranked):
Eudicots
(unranked):
Rosids
Order:
Brassicales
Family:
Brassicaceae
Genus:
Wasabia
Species:
W. japonica
Binomial name
Wasabia japonica
A drawing of a wasabi plant, published in 1828 by Iwasaki Kanen
Fresh wasabi root for sale at Nishiki Market in Kyoto

Eutrema japonicum (synonym Wasabia japonica often misspelled as Eutrema japonica),[6] is a member of the Brassicaceae family, which includes cabbages, horseradish, and mustard. It is also called Japanese horseradish, [7] although it is not actually from the horseradish species of plants. Its root is used as a condiment and has an extremely strong flavor. The plant grows naturally along stream beds in mountain river valleys in Japan. There are also other species used, such as W. koreana, and W. tetsuigi. The two main cultivars in the marketplace are W. japonica 'Daruma' and 'Mazuma', but there are many others.[8]

Fresh wasabi leaves can be eaten, having the spicy flavor of wasabi roots.

Cultivation[edit]

Wasabi crop growing on Japan's Izu peninsula

Few places are suitable for large-scale wasabi cultivation, and cultivation is difficult even in ideal conditions. In Japan, wasabi is cultivated mainly in these regions:

2009 Wasabi production in Japan (metric tonne)[9]
Prefecture Cultivated in water Cultivated in soil Total
Root Leafstalk Root Leafstalk Root Leafstalk Total
Shizuoka 295.1 638.2 4.5 232.3 299.6 870.5 1,170.1
Nagano 316.8 739.2 7.2 16.8 324.0 756.0 1,080.0
Iwate 8.8 1.5 2.4 620.5 11.2 622.0 633.2
Shimane 2.4 10.1 9.0 113.0 11.4 123.1 134.5
Oita 0.5 8.9 - 94.0 0.5 102.9 103.4
Yamaguchi 2.5 2.2 22.5 54.2 25.0 56.4 81.4
Others 65.8 48.1 61.7 108.0 127.5 156.1 283.6
Total 691.9 1,448.2 107.3 1,238.8 799.2 2,687.0 3,486.2

There are also numerous artificially cultivated facilities as far north as Hokkaidō and as far south as Kyūshū. As the demand for real wasabi is very high, Japan has to import a large amount of it from China, Ali Mountain of Taiwan, and New Zealand.

In North America, a handful of companies and small farmers are successfully pursuing the trend by cultivating Wasabia japonica.

Preparation[edit]

Wasabi root is often grated with a metal oroshigane, but some prefer to use a more traditional tool made of dried sharkskin with fine skin on one side and coarse skin on the other. A hand-made grater with irregular teeth can also be used. If a shark-skin grater is unavailable, ceramic is usually preferred.[10]

Nutritional information[edit]

100g of wasabi root contains:[11]

  • Calories : 109
  • Fat: 0.63 g
  • Carbohydrates: 23 g
  • Fibre: 7.8 g
  • Protein: 4.8 g

Chemistry[edit]

The chemical in wasabi that provides for its initial pungency is the volatile allyl isothiocyanate, which is produced by hydrolysis of natural rhizome thioglucosides (conjugates of the sugar glucose, and sulfur-containing organic compounds); the hydrolysis reaction is catalyzed by myrosinase and occurs when the enzyme is released on cell rupture caused by maceration — e.g., grating — of the plant's rhizome.[12][13][14]

The unique flavor of wasabi root is a result of complex chemical mixtures from the broken cells of the rhizome, including those resulting from the hydrolysis of thioglucosides into glucose and methylthioalkyl isothiocyanates:[15][16][17]

  • 6-methylthiohexyl isothiocyanate,
  • 7-methylthioheptyl isothiocyanate, and
  • 8-methylthiooctyl isothiocyanate.

Research has shown that such isothiocyanates inhibit microbe growth, perhaps with implications for preserving food against spoilage and suppressing oral bacterial growth.[18]

References[edit]

  1. ^ The Sushi FAQ - Sushi Items - Wasabi
  2. ^ "CONDIMENTS — Wasabi: real vs. fake".
  3. ^ Lowry, Dave (2005). The connoisseur's guide to sushi: everything you need to know about sushi. The Harvard Common Press. p. 205. ISBN 1-55832-307-4.
  4. ^ What's That Stuff? Wasabi | Science & Technology | Chemical & Engineering News
  5. ^ Levenstein, Steve. "Wasabi Silent Fire Alarm Alerts the Deaf with the Power of Scent". InvestorSpot.
  6. ^ "Eutrema japonica (Miq.) Koidz". Germplasm Resources Information Network, USDA.
  7. ^ "Wasabia japonica". MULTILINGUAL MULTISCRIPT PLANT NAME DATABASE, The University of Melbourne.
  8. ^ Growing Edge (2005). the Best Of Growing Edge International 2000-2005. New Moon Publishing. p. 57. ISBN 978-0-944557-05-1.
  9. ^ (in Japanese). Portal Site of Official Statistics of Japan http://www.e-stat.go.jp/SG1/estat/Xlsdl.do?sinfid=000008212478. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help); Unknown parameter |trans_title= ignored (|trans-title= suggested) (help)
  10. ^ Andoh, Elizabeth; Beisch, Leigh (2005). Washoku: recipes from the Japanese home kitchen. Ten Speed Press. p. 71. ISBN 978-1-58008-519-9.
  11. ^ NDL/FNIC Food Composition Database Home Page
  12. ^ Ina, K., Ina, H., Ueda, M., Yagi, A. and Kishima, I., 1989. ω-methyl thioalkyl isothiocyanate, in wasabi. Agric. Biol. Chem. 53, pp. 537–538.
  13. ^ H. Masuda, Y. Harada, K. Tanaka, M. Nakajima, and H. Tabeta, 1996, Characteristic Odorants of Wasabi (Wasabia japonica matum), Japanese Horseradish, in Comparison with Those of Horseradish (Armoracia rusticana), Biotechnology for Improved Foods and Flavors, Ch. 6, ACS Symposium Series, Vol. 637, pp 67–78.
  14. ^ www.freshwasabi.com/tech.aspx; accessed 11 February 2011.
  15. ^ Ina et al. 1989, ibid.
  16. ^ Masuda et al. 1996, ibid.
  17. ^ Arnaud, Celia Henry. What's That Stuff? Wasabi. Chemical and Engineering News, Vol. 88, No. 12 (March 22, 2010), p. 48
  18. ^ Zeuthen, P.; Bøgh-Sørensen, Leif (2003). Food preservation techniques. Woodhead Publishing Limited. p. 12. ISBN 978-1-85573-530-9.

Further reading[edit]

External links[edit]

Wikispecies has information related to Wasabia japonica.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Plantdrew/Wasabi.
Wikibooks Cookbook has a recipe/module on
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