Why Fake Wasabi is Everywhere

[@offthemenuyt]

One correction in the video, as some have already pointed out: I mentioned tritium in the wrong context, in which it affects the flavor of wasabi. An isotope of tritium is a marker for how long water in a mountain massif was isolated from the atmosphere. Tritium itself doesn't change the flavor of wasabi, which I should've been more clear in my wording. As someone who made a whole video about tritium before, this was a pretty bad mistake on my part. I'll try to be more careful in the future.

[@Suhi]

I like the way you do your videos. Food is not just food, sometimes it's a big part of history and culture. And it's very important to speak about it. It's my personal interest, so i respect your work so much:3

[@squashscent5071]

These documentaries are amazing

[@worldsofpivotify]

Your storytelling is top notch. I'll keep saying it, I'm waiting for you to reach a millions subs

[@jordan.ellis.hunter]

I was living a few years in a region of germany that was mad in love with anything radish and I learnd to love it myself. From purple garden radishes as a TV snack, daikon finley sliced and salted with rye bread and cheese as a beer snack to grated daikon salads with apple or boiled beef with horseradish cream sauce. Foods like eel and radish get such a bad rep, but its 100% about how ppl don't know how to work with it correctly.

[@jordan.ellis.hunter]

Never had real wasabi though, the one time I was in japan I was a poor college student :/

[@Peter-fu7jl]

Dude the quality of your docs is amazing

[@ncj4514]

Been binge watching your channel ever since I found it, insane production quality on all your videos, you honestly deserve way more views! Here's hoping more to come!

[@leo_maino]

your videos are so rich in content! it’s great to see a project like this!

[@KathyXie]

In japanese Horseradish is called 西洋わさび or western wasabi so tecnically Horseradish wasabi is not fake wasabi just a different type of wasabii.

[@sinisterisrandom8537]

Different type perhaps though not true Wasabi. Which is where the line stops when it comes to the word.

[@Narnendil]

They are from different families, so I don't think they are genetically related enough to technically be called different types of wasabi.

[@mindstalk]

@@Narnendil Taxonomically they are in the same family, Brassicaceae, granted that includes broccoli and radish among many others. They are in different genus.

[@okutamaonline6383]

So that explains how they keep getting away with what really is a blatant fake - like substituting meatballs with golfballs.

[@Narnendil]

@@mindstalk Sorry, English isn't my native language so I didn't know how to say it properly. I just saw that horse radish is Armoracia and wasabi is Eutrema. I thought that was called the family, but apparently it was genus.I just wanted to say they don't seem to be closely realted enough to be called different types as wasabi. As you say, I don't consider broccoli a type of wasabi either.

[@jacobalstrup790]

hey man just came across your channel and after watching a couple videos I was shocked by your subscriber count. The quality of your videos is excellent and the content is interesting and presented in an engaging fashion. Your channel is going to be big man, keep it up!

[@amanoos]

Awesome documentary. I love how you were able to find experts willing to share more details on this subject and create this engaging video. As a big sushi and sashimi fan myself, I would love to be able to try them with real wasabi someday. Keep up the excellent job you're doing.

[@gururio]

I randomly ran into your videos and watched four so far, wonderfully made! I live in the SF Bay Area and always wonder why real wasabi is widely available in Japanese markets and higher-end sushi restaurants here. Thank you for the answer! You look like a college student (maybe you still are???) but your videos are topnotch like a pro. Please keep up the good work.

[@feyza1831]

This is my first time seeing how wasabi is grown and harvested, its really fascinating! I was aware that the wasabi I get is mainly horseradish but I had not realized how deep this issue went. So glad I watched this!

[@CuongTran-kq8et]

Lovely your documentary stories

[@antonpavlov9019]

Wow, just stumbled upon this channel and cannot stop watching. Thanks a lot for all the amazing videos. Subscribed :)

[@Boogie3D]

This is definitely your best video, I am amazed by your progress. I have been to Japan 3 times and this is one of the things that I have not tried. Not tried... yet I hope!

[@gsbsblue]

Love you videos. Real wasabi really is such a treat for Japanese food lovers.

[@FranciscoPreira]

Great content Matthew, thank you for sharing.

[@snuscaboose1942]

Well made and presented documentary, thank you.

[@danielduncan576]

I'm really enjoying your extensively-researched and entertaining videos. I'll look forward to the next one.

[@user-ph2sz2oy1k]

Had to chuckle at the phrase "elevated from medicine to food"

[@susanaaragorn8606]

There is a saying in Peruvian Andes: "That your food be your medicine"

[@EkaMei]

Wonderful documentary as always. good work!

[@dropelaves]

Still waiting for your channel's "boom". Sweet baby jesus, is your content good!!

[@shakiMiki]

What a greaet video. Had no idea! Keep up the amazing work,

[@ghostlightning]

Another banger video. You are doing amazing and valuable work.

[@mindstalk]

Where the heck did you get the idea that tritium is involved in any way?

[@whitewall4403]

an amazing documentary

[@klieu90210]

I've only had real wasabi once, at a very expensive sushi restaurant. The chefs were grating it fresh on those sharkskin graters. So much better than horseradish!

[@russellschaeffler]

I like to eat the tops of the wasabi plant pickled along with pickled daikon radish and kimchi on top of rice and natto. Of course throwing in a raw egg and Karashi (spicy mustard). It makes a great breakfast

[@FredoGallardo]

I think this is my favorite videos of yours so far. Wow :)

[@janxl.8025]

I always wondered what the point of wasabi was, since it was like green horse radish to me. Didnt think the answer was this

[@HolDNutz]

great story telling

[@daktaricox]

Another really interesTing and informaTive documenTary report. All done without speaking the T sound

[@davidnguyen348]

I think your channel is fantastic, and the actual content in this video is wonderful, but the shakiness of the recording made me nauseated and I had to leave the video off screen and listen to it like a podcast instead. This doesn't feel very common with your videos, but this one in particular made me very motion sick. Looking forward to all your videos, but if I could ask, maybe do a quick pass to see if the video is really shaky or not? Camera stabilizers are also wonderful investments.

[@thesefran1286]

like how fish & chip shops sell fake vinegar 🍟

[@BrandonGalaxy7]

Goldmine channel

[@Brgnalf81]

HA! But I have, we were in IZU, near the plantations, and we got a real plant next to zaru soba. It was something else. REAL wasabi. Noice.

[@sherkhankazbek4620]

While watching this I thought this video has 500k+ watches, but I was shocked when I saw the real number 😮

[@deadbeef2482]

hey Matthew, it'd be nice of you if you'd provide sources - your claim that a radioactive isotope of hydrogen, tritium, gives hon wasabi its flavor is downright insane + it's not a mineral

[@RadenWA]

I always laugh at the common notion that Japanese can’t handle “spice”. Aren’t wasabi, mustard and ginger all forms of spiciness too? Some people barely put wasabi on their sushi and they dare to come say how “weak” the Japanese palate are.

[@mindstalk]

But there _are_ different forms of spice or pungency, and it matters. In college, a friend of mine could totally exceed me in simple heat/capsaicin, enjoying much hotter salsas or raw chilis. But when I took him to an Americanized Indian lunch buffet, he freaked out. "It's not _hot_ hot, but there are so many seasonings, it's like a party in my mouth and I'm not used to it." Horseradish causes a certain amount of localized and brief mouth burn, but mostly sends a rocket up my sinuses, it's a fairly different sensation from capsaicin making my whole mouth burn for a while. Then there's 'mala' or Sichuan pepper, causing a weird electric tingling effect. And whatever black pepper does. So no, I don't think it's absurd if Japanese people can enjoy modest amounts of horseradish (and close relatives), but have lower tolerance for chili peppers or the sheer taste complexity of Indian cooking.

[@az197]

Why are there so few or incomplete subtites?

[@franzb69]

they also use moringa roots. not just horseradish.

[@TheTakeFactory]

You can get real wasabi in the west in high quality sushi restaurants if you don't want to buy the whole thing yourself. I've been to Sushi B in Paris and Sushi Nakazawa in Washington D.C. and both of them prepared fresh wasabi. Any sushi place with at least one michelin star should do it though there are probably (especially in America where not every region has their own version of the guide) some that don't have any stars and use real wasabi. I think it's an experience worth having if you enjoy sushi and it's certainly a lot cheaper than flying to Japan.

[@victoriarobinson3909]

I've had it in the UK, still not keen on it. It's now grown in the UK, we have a very similar climate to the area of Japan its grown in just not as hot.

[@tktyga77]

Imagine trying to grow the stuff at home with the conditions needed at hand

[@mikosuke1066]

Wasabi is sold in tubes in Japanese supermarkets. If the package label says "Hon Wasabi", 100% of the ingredients are wasabi. And if it is [Nama Wasabi], the ingredients are a mixture of wasabi and horseradish. In this sense, neither is fake. This is determined by production standards. The selling price is not much different for either. For the purpose of this program, I understood it as referring to the difference in flavor between wasabi in a tube and freshly picked wasabi from a wasabi farm.

[@mikosuke1066]

An analogy would be the difference between canned peaches and fresh peaches. This is like comparing flavor or taste itself.

[@anthonygoodings4238]

well done!

[@joshc-dev]

i love you sir.

[@joshc-dev]

and the Australian transplant David.

[@matthewjay660]

Matthew, the first time I ate American wasabi, it violated my nose and sinuses and continued to do so down my throat. 🥵 Jesus, I even checked ears because they both felt like they were bleeding!👂🏻👂🏻🩸🩸🔥

[@Wonginism]

Yea I have yet to see someone prepare my wasabi infront of me hence I will stay sceptical of my opinion on it

[@Nick1979BN]

6:52 🤐😇

[@EpicvidsKetti08]

Real Wasabi hits different 100% less of a hot "spicy" and more of a cool "spicy" although if you ever get it fresh and have extra you can freeze it

[@richardbarba2736]

I love love Japan!

[@piggydives]

14 thousand BC? 14000BC? sure about that fact?

[@Eldiran1]

Is this how american saw wasabi in the intro? For me (french) is something who was like mustard but now i know why! I'm kinda angry that they call wasabi something that's not! It's important to call a thing what it is, and again capitalism is bluring the limit to gain money, it's disgusting. PS: seeing these japanese mountain forest again make me nostalgic. I know i was back there (in south kanto and kyushu ) in february/march but i wanna go back again, it's so peacefull.

[@susanaaragorn8606]

Omg! Now I want to eat real wasabi😭

[@christiantesoro2639]

❤❤❤

[@shastawasabi9957]

You ought to come visit our spot. David from Okutama is my mentor, and good friend

[@extremeboiwoo]

I love u

[@Nadine56924]

Vegan food ❤

[@totot99]

So wasabi were never selectively bred to produce longer retaining taste after grating or something? Or could it not be made so?

[@masterful9954]

Wrong use of word pedantic

[@masterful9954]

Thank you for documenting

[@eggs654]

First

[@shakiMiki]

Zzzzzzz

[@miragept]

That is a real bad video title mate, so took the liberty of fixing it.

[@The_lightskin]

Real bad spelling mate, so take the liberty of fixing it.

[@miragept]

Thank you very mate, not a native speaker so typing knowledge is not ideal.

[@The_lightskin]

@@miragept ok but please explain why the title was bad because it perfectly explains the lie in japanese food which is wasabi being the fake version, so please explain why your original comment says the title of the video is bad

[@miragept]

Doesn't even mention what the video is about (wasabi), its a meaningless title of the new cancerous youtuber trend.

[@The_lightskin]

@@miragept its smart and somewhat true though becase it is a lie in japanese culture but he didt tell you what it was so u would be curious and click on the video its very smart and it gets the views so