3 ms·

There's not a lot of difference between real and fake wasabi. One is horseradish and the other is a close relative of horseradish.

masklinn 7y ago
> There's not a lot of difference […] One is horseradish and the other is a close relative of horseradish. Close relatives of the horseradish include woad (the ancient indigo source), turnips, rapeseed, cabbages, weeds (thale cress) and flowery shrubs & al. "Close relative" is not an indication of "not a lot of difference". You might as well say that mustard (also a close relative) is no different from wasabi.
- steve19 7y ago
  It's the same chemical allyl isothiocyanate producing the flavor one way or the other. Horseradish isn't faking the flavor.
- missosoup 7y ago
  Have you tasted them? Most people wouldn't notice the difference if you swapped their regular fake wasabi for the real thing. The main difference is the colour, hence the fake stuff being dyed green.
  - masklinn 7y ago
    You're missing my point, which is that "close relative" says literally nothing about the effects given how varied "close relatives" of the horseradish are. You may well be right that there is no big difference between wasabi and horseradish, but them being "close relative" is not an actual argument for that unless they're much closer relative than just being in the same taxonomic family.
    - missosoup 7y ago
      You're sort of beating a strawman to death. I just said close relative without specifying how close or what kind of relationship. You picked that to mean "same taxonomic family' and having a go at that being a bad choice of qualification. Okay mate, but you picked it. Being pedantic for no productive reason at all backfires. Often.
      - masklinn 7y ago
        > You're sort of beating a strawman to death. I just said close relative without specifying how close. And you picked that to mean "same taxonomic family' I didn't pick anything, I just looked up what the qualifier you picked meant. They're not the same species, they're not the same genus, they're the same taxonomic family, which also includes all the stuff I listed in my original comment.
      - SantalBlush 7y ago
        You said: >There's not a lot of difference between real and fake wasabi. One is horseradish and the other is a close relative of horseradish. There was no strawman. Being a close relative does not imply "not a lot of difference."
  - thatcat 7y ago
    They definitely taste different if wasabi is fresh chopped.
  - deleted 7y ago
    [deleted]
- mlonkibjuyhv 7y ago
  Have you tried a teaspoon of Dijon?
pvaldes 7y ago
But can be a lot of difference on how is cultured and its origin.

masklinn 7y ago

> There's not a lot of difference […] One is horseradish and the other is a close relative of horseradish. Close relatives of the horseradish include woad (the ancient indigo source), turnips, rapeseed, cabbages, weeds (thale cress) and flowery shrubs & al. "Close relative" is not an indication of "not a lot of difference". You might as well say that mustard (also a close relative) is no different from wasabi.

steve19 7y ago
It's the same chemical allyl isothiocyanate producing the flavor one way or the other. Horseradish isn't faking the flavor.
missosoup 7y ago
Have you tasted them? Most people wouldn't notice the difference if you swapped their regular fake wasabi for the real thing. The main difference is the colour, hence the fake stuff being dyed green.
- masklinn 7y ago
  You're missing my point, which is that "close relative" says literally nothing about the effects given how varied "close relatives" of the horseradish are. You may well be right that there is no big difference between wasabi and horseradish, but them being "close relative" is not an actual argument for that unless they're much closer relative than just being in the same taxonomic family.
  - missosoup 7y ago
    You're sort of beating a strawman to death. I just said close relative without specifying how close or what kind of relationship. You picked that to mean "same taxonomic family' and having a go at that being a bad choice of qualification. Okay mate, but you picked it. Being pedantic for no productive reason at all backfires. Often.
    - masklinn 7y ago
      > You're sort of beating a strawman to death. I just said close relative without specifying how close. And you picked that to mean "same taxonomic family' I didn't pick anything, I just looked up what the qualifier you picked meant. They're not the same species, they're not the same genus, they're the same taxonomic family, which also includes all the stuff I listed in my original comment.
    - SantalBlush 7y ago
      You said: >There's not a lot of difference between real and fake wasabi. One is horseradish and the other is a close relative of horseradish. There was no strawman. Being a close relative does not imply "not a lot of difference."
- thatcat 7y ago
  They definitely taste different if wasabi is fresh chopped.
- deleted 7y ago
  [deleted]
mlonkibjuyhv 7y ago
Have you tried a teaspoon of Dijon?

pvaldes 7y ago

But can be a lot of difference on how is cultured and its origin.