Originally Posted by
Eastbay1K
The fish market sells the roots for about $80 a pound ... it is in the refrigerated fish case and i think it is on a bed of ice or something special to keep it fresh. It also loses its flavo(u)r shortly after grating it. It is apparently about the most difficult of commercial crops to grow. The "wasabi" paste one typically eats is about as authentic as the "maple" syrup that (now past tense?) comes from Mrs. Butterworth's head.
Are you saying that high-fructose corn syrup isn't another name for maple syrup?
I'm sure that there was a trace of maple syrup in the tank before...
All joking aside, I've never had real wasabi before, but I'd like to try it (and to try to grow it myself). I usually take the faux-wasabi straight up with my sashimi... not a lot mind you, but the thought of dipping a perfectly good piece of sashimi/sushi into the salt-bath that the soy sauce is just makes me convulse... Soy sauce has it's place, but I've never liked it with my sashimi...