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girhen t1_j1i54j1 wrote

Reply to comment by yeuzinips in What specifically about ginger/menthol/wasabi causes one's sinuses to open? by Bartendiesthrowaway

Hadn't heard that bit, but I had heard it's super pungent for all of 15 minutes after grating. If it's not super fresh, it's worthless. So super pricy.

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mtfellie t1_j1iej1t wrote

The growth thing is true as well, wasabi is very particular about the soil and water. Iirc, most of it is grown on one farm in Japan fed by a stream that runs through and irrigates the soil.

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girhen t1_j1iirly wrote

I mean, it's not surprising. I know Vidalia onions only grow properly in one town of the same name in Georgia, USA. The soil quality and onion breed make a very sweet, pungent, and less acidic onion. I tend to use it for more things because it's easier to use and tastes so good.

So one small section of Japan makes sense for similar reasons.

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mtfellie t1_j1ijkm7 wrote

Vidalia only grow in that one spot because Vidalia onions are regular sweet onions grown in a sulfur poor environment. The sandy soil of Vidalia, Georgia causes sulfur to run down through the soil into the water table instead of settling near the surface to be used by plant life. This results in low VOSC content in the onions reducing the burn from them. The most notable of these VOSCs is Allicin ,a compound which when exposed to oxygen, acts basically like tear gas to us humans.

Edit: de-shatnerized

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Licentiousalsatian t1_j1iqmiv wrote

There's a farm in England too. They're very few and far between but wasabi isn't like balsamic of Modena or cornish pasties. You absolutely can produce wasabi outside of Japan, it's just extremely rare.

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quintinza t1_j1irt5v wrote

Jeremy Clarkson managed to fail his way to a semi successful mini crop of Wasabi by planting them next to a stream on his farm. They show it in Season One of Clarksons Farm.

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mrchaotica t1_j1iwpod wrote

Watching that made me a little bit inspired to go start a wasabi farm up in the North Georgia mountains. 99% chance I won't, though.

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Captain_Kuhl t1_j1iuyfq wrote

There's a Business Insider series on YouTube called So Expensive, and they cover wasabi in one of the episodes. It's pretty good for a filler show while you're not doing anything, sort of like How It's Made, and they'll condense an entire season into a couple hours for one continuous watch.

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