3įun Fact: Fresh grated wasabi will reach peak spiciness after about a minute, then lose its flavour after 15 minutes. It’s the lining of TRPA1 sensors in your airway which make you cough if you inhale smoke. TRPA1 sensors can also be activated by capsaicin from chilli peppers, acids, high temperatures, and pollutants. These sensors are our body’s ‘fire alarm’, and they create feelings of pain and inflammation. Isothiocyanates trigger special sensors in our cells, which some scientists have dubbed the ‘wasabi receptor’, or less colourfully, TRPA1. Chief among these molecules are isothiocyanates. The result? A variety of molecules which evoke bitter and spicy flavours. When they are damaged - like by a chomping predator - the myrosinase and glucosinolates mix together and start reacting. Inside their cells, they hold stores of an enzyme called myrosinase, and organic molecules called glucosinolates. But all of these plants contain a secret sting. This group includes less obviously spicy vegetables like Brussel sprouts, cabbages, kale and cauliflower. Wasabi is part of a group of plants known as the mustards, or cabbage family. 2 Yet, by the 19 th century common people were eating wasabi as a sushi seasoning, and by the 20 th century sushi had gained global popularity. At first, only the ruling class were allowed to use it. It was listed as a medicinal plant in a Japanese medical encyclopaedia in 918 AD, and was cultivated from the period of 1596 - 1615 AD. It doesn’t like direct sunlight and it takes two years to grow to maturity. The most popular of the wasabi species is Wasabi japonica, which evolved to grow in the gravel beds of mountain streams in Japan. 1 But it is one of the hardest crops to grow. It’s not the most expensive taste you could buy - a kilogram of saffron could be $15,000 USD, and a kilogram of Black Ivory elephant dung bean coffee costs $1,800 USD. Wasabi is one of the world’s most expensive crops, currently priced at $160 USD per kilogram. What is Wasabi? It’s is one of the world’s most expensive crops – but even if you enjoy sushi, you might never have tasted the real thing.
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