- On a trip to Japan, I met with wasabi grower David Hulme and tried fresh wasabi for the first time.
- We toured his wasabi patches, where I learned fresh wasabi doesn't have the vibrant hue I'm used to.
I thought I knew what wasabi — that bright-green, spicy paste served alongside my go-to tuna roll or salmon sashimi — tasted like.
But that changed when I met wasabi cultivator David Hulme. Hulme not only gave me my first taste of fresh wasabi, but he informed me that all the nose-tingling, tear-jerking wasabi I've had in the past was likely fake.
Earlier this year, I joined Hulme in the small town of Okutama, about an hour outside of Tokyo. Originally from Australia, Hulme moved to Tokyo for his journalism career. A little over a decade ago, he traded city life to become a wasabi farmer in Okutama.
Now, he takes care of a handful of wasabidas, or wasabi patches, which line streambeds in Japan's mountainous regions.
On a recent trip to the country, Hulme took me on a tour of his wasabidas, and I learned a lot about Japan's cherished vegetable.
Wasabi is a lush, green plant grown in riverbeds
As we hiked up a mountain alongside a small stream, we ran into rows of lush, green plants.
Hulme explained that the plants grow best in mountain river valleys, where mineral-rich water feeds and flavors the wasabi. Beyond a constant flow of mineral-rich water, wasabi needs oxygen, shade, and mild temperatures during the lifespan of the plant, which is about 18 months.
Every variable of the cultivation process is tracked, Hulme said. During the tour, he measured the water level and jotted down the number, which he'd later add to a massive spreadsheet.
In the rocky riverbed, heart-shaped leaves had sprouted from the ground. With only the leaves visible, I was eager to learn which part of the plant would be turned into the paste.
Would we grind the leaves into a paste? Was wasabi like ginger, and we'd pull up a plant to discover a hearty root?
Hulme eyed the rows of wasabi, searching for a mature plant ready to harvest. He found one and pulled it out of the wet ground. Fine roots shot out of the bottom of the plant. Hulme hacked away its leaves, revealing a light-green stem.
He explained that while you eat the root of plants like horseradish and ginger, you eat the stem of wasabi.
The next step was to grate it and taste it.
The wasabi had a sharp flavor — unlike anything I'd tasted before
Hulme grated the wasabi into a paste. As the wasabi built up on the grater, it lacked the vibrant green color I was familiar with.
The wasabi paste was definitely green, just not nearly as green as the wasabi I'd encountered in the past.
That's because I likely haven't had real wasabi, Hulme said. What's frequently served is a mixture of horseradish, mustard, and green dye. There might be a bit of wasabi powder in the paste, Hulme said, but the majority is horseradish.
There's a handful of reasons for that.
"Wasabi loses its flavor quickly," Hulme said.
I tasted that firsthand. As Hulme ground the wasabi stem, we tasted the root at varying increments of time.
First, Hulme had me wait a few minutes before tasting the grated wasabi. The flavor had peaked, and it hit my nostrils before it hit my tastebuds. My eyes instinctively watered and beyond the sharp spice, there was an earthier note as well.
We waited a few more minutes and tried the wasabi again. This time my eyes didn't water.
After about 25 minutes, the same wasabi paste had a mild flavor.
Hulme said that restaurants struggle to serve fresh wasabi since it can't be prepped ahead of time. Instead, it needs to be grated just minutes before serving.
But it's not just wasabi's shelf life that makes it hard to come by — it's the price.
Beyond the intense cultivating process, there are fewer people growing wasabi, The New York Times reported. Factors like rising temperatures caused by climate change have discouraged people from growing wasabi, since the plant needs moderate temperatures — around 70 degrees Fahernheit — to thrive, according to the Times. And in the last decade there's been a 55% decline in wasabi production, the Times reported, citing Japan's Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries.
Today, wasabi is expensive, Hulme said.
As Insider has previously reported, fresh wasabi can cost $250 per kilogram — 25 times as much as fresh horseradish.
As I grabbed another chopstick full of fresh wasabi, I celebrated the way it cleared my nostrils, filled my tear ducts, and left my tongue tingling. It was a taste I wouldn't easily find again anytime soon.