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I had heard the same, but it is true even in Japan. Real Wasabi is insanely water-intensive. This is where I first read about it: https://www.theatlantic.com
by RajT88 4y ago
I had heard the same, but it is true even in Japan.
Real Wasabi is insanely water-intensive. This is where I first read about it:
https://www.theatlantic.com/video/index/585172/wasabi-fake/ https://www.theatlantic.com/video/index/585172/wasabi-fake/
There is a NZ brand which has cracked cultivation. It is not cheap.
https://www.purewasabi.co.nz/ https://www.purewasabi.co.nz/
ETA: I have not tried it. Saving the purchase for when I can talk my wife into sushi from my wild catches. Tall order.
- kurthr 4y agoYes, even in Japan real wasabi is a treat at a nice sushi place. Most wasabi is gathered and cultivated by hand, and then freshly hand grated for your seating. You can buy the root at some Japanese stores and grate it yourself.
- 0des 4y agoyeah but if you get real wasabi, to do it justice you're gonna need the traditional shark pelt mounted on an artisanal wooden board to grind it on. we aren't peasants.
- dendrite9 4y agoThere are a number of places in the PNW that grow wasabi, at least one on Vancouver island, one in Oregon, and I think one in Washington. The price at my local asian grocery store seems to range from $99 to $199 per pound over the last 3-4 years. Totally nonscientific, I just pay attention when picking up other herbs. I'd guess about $129/lb is normal there. I still haven't convinced myself to make a meal to justify the expense, I don't cook enough Japanese food. https://www.thewasabistore.com/the-farm-1 https://www.thewasabistore.com/the-farm-1
- staticautomatic 4y agoNC State University’s horticulture program also cultivates it in mountain stream beds.
- froh 4y agoside remark wrt wild catch: Take good care of parasites. The deep frying of stor bought fish is also a parasite treatment, so is cooking. Wild catch needs detailed knowledge for the specific species, if and how it needs inspection and if and how it can be eaten uncooked and unfrozen, ie completely raw. Wild catch is not just in and by itself "good and healthy" This article has some sound references at the end: https://sushimodern.com/sushi/safe-sushi-grade-species/ https://sushimodern.com/sushi/safe-sushi-grade-species/
- RajT88 4y agoOh yes. I am well aware of the parasites. Our next freezer will be of the requisite grade. Local fishing charters here like to dice up fresh salmon or trout on the boat as sashimi. I reckon their customers stay thin, if you follow my meaning.
- froh 4y agoFreezing deep freezing! autocorrect fried my freezing, can't edit any more, thanks for reading my gibberish as intended
- giantg2 4y agoI don't think you need a special grade freezer. Just one that isn't self defrosting. It only has to be at -4F for a week or two.
- RajT88 4y agoYeah, you can shorten that time with colder temperatures I have read. Also, some fancy sushi chefs let the fish age a while at very low temps. See: Naomichi Yasuda
- giantg2 4y agoAccording to the FDA tuna is the only one that's not required to undergo parasite destruction. Even then is not "no risk" its "extremely small risk".