Wasabi facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Wasabi |
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Wasabia
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W. japonica
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| Wasabia japonica Matsum.
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Wasabi is a spice traditionally prepared from a plant from the cabbage family. Its root is used as a spice and has a very strong flavor. The root is smashed up into paste and used as a condiment. Its hotness is more like hot mustard or horseradish than chili pepper, because it irritates the nose more than the tongue. Eating too much wasabi can cause a very painful feeling in the nose. The plant grows naturally in Japan. It is often eaten with sushi.
Wasabi needs clean water and a cool climate. It is difficult to grow wasabi. There are two ways to grow wasabi. One way is to grow wasabi in water. The other way is to grow wasabi in a field.
Major sources of wasabi are Shizuoka, Nagano, Shimane, Yamanashi, and Iwate prefectures in Japan. Other source of wasabi include China, New Zealand, Taiwan.
Because the wasabi plant is so hard to grow, real wasabi is very rare and expensive, most wasabi is a green paste that is really made from horseradish, mustard and food coloring.
Wasabi is also known for how spicy, or hot it is.
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Wasabi plants
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Wasabi paste on Shiso leaf
Images for kids
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Wasabi grated to paste form
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A drawing of a wasabi plant, published in 1828 by Iwasaki Kanen
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Wasabi on a metal oroshigane grater
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Fresh wasabi stems for sale at Daio Wasabi Farm, Azumino, Nagano Prefecture, Japan
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Wasabi crop growing on Japan's Izu Peninsula
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A comparison of the colors of grated wasabi. From the left, Hikimi wasabi (Daijin cultivar), Hikimi wasabi (wild-type) and wasabi from Shizuoka Prefecture (Mazuma cultivar).
See also
In Spanish: Eutrema japonicum para niños
