Most Wasabi Is Fake [video] • Hacker News Board

Re: Most Wasabi Is Fake [video]

#101

Post by Tor3 » Thu, Mar 21, 2019, 8:31 AM UTC

dmos62 wrote: post #97

joecool1029 wrote: post #94

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>In the western world Nah really just the US has the giant value bags of Hershey's product with almost no cacao solids. The commonwealth western nations are still sweet but have higher minimums. Don't believe me? A good benchmark is kitkat bars. Try the regular from US, Canada, England, and Japan. Only the US one tastes overwhelmingly of sugar and not chocolate. Japan's chocolate is far less sweet but they don't seem…

I've been recently pondering sugar tolerance. I've been avoiding it for the last few years, eating it only sometimes and moderately, checking sugar contents of processed food I buy, etc. I'm at a point where anything with more than ~30% sugar tastes bad: it gives a sort of mouth-wrinkling shock to my taste receptors; my sugar tolerance is decreasing. Given that sugar is addictive and most producers seem to have the a…

Many (many!) years ago a friend brought some bottles of Pepsi from a trip to Egypt. I still had a couple of the bottles left until last year, when I finally ditched them. The reason he brought them was to show how the Egyptian version of Pepsi had much more sugar added (I didn't actually think that was even possible..). Then again refined sugar was invented in that region of the world and was used hundreds of years before anywhere else.

As for myself, I just hate how shop-made cakes are mostly sugar - it feels like my mouth is burning. I don't understand why they do it. Nearly everyone I know prefer home-made cakes (made from basic ingrediants, not mix bags).

Re: Most Wasabi Is Fake [video]

#102

Post by seszett » Thu, Mar 21, 2019, 8:42 AM UTC

notyourday wrote: post #63

Mediterraneo10 wrote: post #3

So is most truffle oil. Canned reindeer meat in the Nordic countries can be up to 40% pork. Budget-brand soy sauce might actually be "soy sauce powder" mixed with water, as opposed to something straightforwardly brewed. If you travel the developing world, you may find that what is sold as chocolate actually has no cacao in it. Lots and lots of disappointments out there in the food world. I find reading labels careful…

There's no such thing as a non-synthetic truffle oil. It is not made from truffles what so ever. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Truffle_oil

There absolutely is such a thing as truffle oil made with real truffles, and you link also says so.

Re: Most Wasabi Is Fake [video]

#103

Post by CaptainZapp » Thu, Mar 21, 2019, 9:23 AM UTC

jjeaff wrote: post #85

tptacek wrote: post #75

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, in a high-end Japanese restaurant, the "real" wasabi is fresh-grated.

When I have had real wasabi, I have always found it to be superior. It wasn't quite as sharp as the fake stuff but it seemed to have a much deeper flavor (more umami, perhaps). I didn't find it watery at all. Maybe my perception was just colored by the novelty and rarety. But I also suspect that quality can vary greatly season to season and even day to day.

I was wondering when reading the previous replies because I totally agree with you.

Freshly grated real Wasabi, in my opinion, is much more subtle and deep (and slightly sweeter) than the ersatz stuff that comes in tubes or as powder. My guess is that the benchmark for most people is the fake stuff and thus they find real wasabi strange and probably too mild.

What I also learned in high class sushi places is that you NEVER dunk the rice into a mixture of soja-sauce and wasabi (no matter if real or not). If you absolutely must you can use some soja on the fish only. Another nice aspect is that it's completely proper to eat sushi with your hands.

Re: Most Wasabi Is Fake [video]

#104

Post by dalbasal » Thu, Mar 21, 2019, 9:29 AM UTC

Tor3 wrote: post #98

Mediterraneo10 wrote: post #3

So is most truffle oil. Canned reindeer meat in the Nordic countries can be up to 40% pork. Budget-brand soy sauce might actually be "soy sauce powder" mixed with water, as opposed to something straightforwardly brewed. If you travel the developing world, you may find that what is sold as chocolate actually has no cacao in it. Lots and lots of disappointments out there in the food world. I find reading labels careful…

> Canned reindeer meat in the Nordic countries can be up to 40% pork. On the other hand the frozen sliced reindeer meat is 100% reindeer. The canned stuff is meatballs, which is difficult to make from reindeer or moose -- the meat contains no fat whatsoever. Thus the pork mix. As for wasabi, what my wife says (she's Japanese) is that wasabi isn't there for its own flavor - its only job is to enhance the flavor of the…

A lot of traditional European dishes (inc Swedish meatballs) mix minced pork with a darker meat, usually beef or veal. You get the savoury flavour and colour from the red meat and the mild flavoured fat from pork. It's a similar affect "grain fattened" beef produces in a single animal, but the animal doesn't need to be an obese cow.

If you have venison in a resteraunt, it's often rare steak dishes. It's cooked rare because it's so lean, and dries up when cooked for longer. Usually the meat is trimmed, because the fat/grisle isn't as good as beef (in ye old times, venison fat was used for tallow candles instead of lard) But, not every cut is steak.

If you make sausages or minced meat dishes (meatballs, etc.) from venison, cutting it with pork or pork fat makes it much more suitable for most recipes.

Lying to consumers is not ok, but combining venison and pork is legit. My guess is that it's traditional.

Re: Most Wasabi Is Fake [video]

#105

Post by swish_bob » Thu, Mar 21, 2019, 9:39 AM UTC

gotocake wrote: post #57

tptacek wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You could say the same thing about vanilla, for which Cooks Illustrated was infamously not able to triangle-test a meaningful preference between artificial and real in a baked goods panel (IIRC, the Milk Bar cookbook went a step further and specified recipes that only worked with artificial vanilla). Sometimes, the artificial ("beer-grade") version is a legit advance. A big problem with truffle oil is that it's too e…

The problem with most “truffle oil” is that it’s truly vile, and if you put it next to actual truffle infused oil no one would confuse the two. The problem is that so few people have actually had truffles, never mind truffle infused oil to know. To a greater or lesser extent the same is true for vanilla, although far more people have had the real deal as a reference point. Still vanillin is artificial, but hardly a t…

During early tasting panels when they were adding real vanilla to some UK ice cream products there was confusion among the people running them, because nobody was mentioning the black flecks. Eventually they asked people if they'd noticed them - they had, but had assumed they were dirt/a flaw in the batch, and had been too polite to mention it ...

Re: Most Wasabi Is Fake [video]

#106

Post by mda » Thu, Mar 21, 2019, 9:41 AM UTC

Ozzie_osman wrote: post #31

Mediterraneo10 wrote: post #3

So is most truffle oil. Canned reindeer meat in the Nordic countries can be up to 40% pork. Budget-brand soy sauce might actually be "soy sauce powder" mixed with water, as opposed to something straightforwardly brewed. If you travel the developing world, you may find that what is sold as chocolate actually has no cacao in it. Lots and lots of disappointments out there in the food world. I find reading labels careful…

Baby carrots are not, in fact, small carrots. They are misshapen carrots that would not sell unless they were carved into "baby carrots".

And these fake, shaped baby carrots are truly vile. No taste, disgusting texture.

Re: Most Wasabi Is Fake [video]

#107

Post by Tsubasachan » Thu, Mar 21, 2019, 9:44 AM UTC

naravara wrote: post #17

Mediterraneo10 wrote: post #3

So is most truffle oil. Canned reindeer meat in the Nordic countries can be up to 40% pork. Budget-brand soy sauce might actually be "soy sauce powder" mixed with water, as opposed to something straightforwardly brewed. If you travel the developing world, you may find that what is sold as chocolate actually has no cacao in it. Lots and lots of disappointments out there in the food world. I find reading labels careful…

All because everyone wants champagne taste on a beer budget. It reminds me of a Frank Lloyd Wright quote when someone asked for a $5k house and he says “Are you sure you want a $5,000 house? Most people want a $10,000 house for $5,000.” They could just pitch these as cheaper substitutions and it wouldn’t be so annoying.

Ha yeah, I have doubts that my €3 frozen pizza really has mozarella cheese made from buffalo milk on it.

Re: Most Wasabi Is Fake [video]

#108

Post by doktrin » Thu, Mar 21, 2019, 9:52 AM UTC

CaptainZapp wrote: post #103

jjeaff wrote: post #85

Earlier quoted context omitted.

When I have had real wasabi, I have always found it to be superior. It wasn't quite as sharp as the fake stuff but it seemed to have a much deeper flavor (more umami, perhaps). I didn't find it watery at all. Maybe my perception was just colored by the novelty and rarety. But I also suspect that quality can vary greatly season to season and even day to day.

I was wondering when reading the previous replies because I totally agree with you. Freshly grated real Wasabi, in my opinion, is much more subtle and deep (and slightly sweeter) than the ersatz stuff that comes in tubes or as powder. My guess is that the benchmark for most people is the fake stuff and thus they find real wasabi strange and probably too mild. What I also learned in high class sushi places is that you…

> you NEVER dunk the rice into a mixture of soja-sauce and wasabi (no matter if real or not)

why not?

Re: Most Wasabi Is Fake [video]

#109

Post by mikekchar » Thu, Mar 21, 2019, 9:55 AM UTC

tptacek wrote: post #5

In high-end Japanese restaurants, you can often get real wasabi (it'll be listed at the bottom of the menu). My experience with it has been that it's usually coarser, more watery, and less pungent than the "standard" wasabi. I do not prefer it; whatever combination of horseradish and mustard restaurants default to is, I think, the better product. If I was eating wasabi on its own and trying to, I don't know, apprecia…

Wow. That's amazing to me (and also that so many responders agree). I love wasabi! It has a clean, sweet, chlorophyll taste to it. However, there are a few caveats.

Real wasabi needs to be mashed, not grated. If you cut the cell walls it doesn't produce the flavour properly. You need to break the cell walls. That's why you use a shark skin "grater" (and it's important to press hard and "grate" in a circular motion because you are really pulping it against the shark skin).

Secondly, the flavour of wasabi changes dramatically from the time it is "grated" and over the next 30 minutes. It is very hot immediately after you grate it and gets progressively less hot over time. After about 30 minutes it is practically tasteless. It's super important to time the "grating" with the dish. At my favourite izakaya, the master's son (who does the fish) "grates" the wasabi first, puts it on the plate, then cuts the fish, plates it and then gives you the dish. This way the wasabi has reached it's peak flavour when you receive the dish. You've got about 5-10 minutes to eat it until it goes horrible.

Finally, the flavour varies considerably by season. I find winter wasabi to be much sweeter than summer wasabi.

Now, at the risk of being slightly dismissive (which I don't intend to be), I buy fresh wasabi from time to time and prepare it for myself. The result is exactly as you describe and I have to say that my efforts are largely not worth it. I even live in Shizuoka so I have access to good wasabi! The problem is that preparing wasabi requires the correct tools, the correct technique and practice -- none of which I have. I wonder if it is possible that the examples you tried were possibly not the best...

Re: Most Wasabi Is Fake [video]

#110

Post by mikekchar » Thu, Mar 21, 2019, 10:03 AM UTC

doktrin wrote: post #108

CaptainZapp wrote: post #103

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I was wondering when reading the previous replies because I totally agree with you. Freshly grated real Wasabi, in my opinion, is much more subtle and deep (and slightly sweeter) than the ersatz stuff that comes in tubes or as powder. My guess is that the benchmark for most people is the fake stuff and thus they find real wasabi strange and probably too mild. What I also learned in high class sushi places is that you…

> you NEVER dunk the rice into a mixture of soja-sauce and wasabi (no matter if real or not) why not?

The rice is already seasoned with sugar and salt (quite a lot of it, actually). Also, the flavour of the rice is enhanced dramatically by the air between the rice kernels. Part of the art of nigiri sushi is making sure that you squeeze it enough that it sticks together, but not enough that the air is forced out. If the fish has not been seasoned, it's usual to dip it in soy sauce (by turning the sushi over and just dipping one end in it), but frequently the fish (especially edomae style) is already seasoned, so you need very little soy sauce if any at all. The sushi should already have the correct amount of wasabi on it and frequently the person serving you will ask you how much you like wasabi so that they can judge the correct amount.