DESCRIPTION

Wasabi is often referred to as Japanese horseradish, but the two are actually different plants. Wasabi is a perennial herb in the Brassica family, and it is the rhizome of the plant that is used. In Japan, the plant grows wild in cold mountain streams (its Japanese name means “mountain hollyhock”). It is difficult to cultivate under other conditions, but it is raised commercially in Japan in flooded
mountain terraces. More recently in the United States, a handful of producers, primarily on the Pacific Coast, have succeeded in growing fresh wasabi in limited quantities.