(02-15-2021, 09:21 PM)fredtoast Wrote: Does the fresh root lose heat if it is not fresh like horseradish does?
I don't care a lot for straight horseradish sauce, but I used to buy it just to add a little bit to other hot sauces.
I can honestly say that I don't know, Fred; I've eaten fresh Wasabi, maybe 15 times in my life (11 times at a restaurant just north of Toronto {the proprietor is from Yokohama} and the rest in Japan) and every time I have had it, it has been super-fresh and tastes great, with only a little kick of heat/
It isn't nearly as powerful as the stuff in the tube or at restaurants and has a much-deeper flavour; in Kyoto, there was a smokehouse run by a single man, who did all the cooking and food-sourcing. He caught all the fish, (river fish, as Kyoto is not near the sea and his house wasn't near any saltwater or lake), hunted all of the animals and grew all of the vegetables, that he served at the restaurant. He had a tasting platter of random Japanese vegetables and one of the was the actual wasabi plant leaves and stem. Imagine eating Swiss Chard or Broccoli Rabe (Rapini to us Italians :)), but with the flavour of wasabi.
It was beyond-delicious and I actually ordered a full side of it, in conjunction with the other food, as it was just so good.
He also served soy grasshoppers and bee larvae, which were also beyond-delicious.