The difference between wasabi and mustard

Different peppers and peppers give different feelings to the mouth. This is why some people prefer to eat peppers and some people like to eat mustard. There is a difference between mustard and peppers, and the spicy taste of mustard is also different. Therefore, everyone should know the difference between wasabi and mustard, and distinguish the taste. Only in this way can you ensure that you choose the right one when eating.

Wasabi

Wasabi, horseradish, mustard, these condiments that can make you cry, how much do you know?

When eating sushi and sashimi in Japanese restaurants, in addition to soy sauce, they are also served with a small ball of green condiment. This spicy ingredient is called "mustard", and its real name is actually wasabi. Japan's oldest herbal dictionary records that wasabi was used as a herbal medicine as early as the Heian period. According to legend, Tokugawa Ieyasu loved wasabi so much that he ordered that it could only be grown near Shizuoka Prefecture. A forest ranger obtained a wild wasabi by chance and secretly took it to another area to plant it. Wasabi then became known around the world. It was not until the late Edogawa period, with the widespread popularity of sushi, that wasabi began to become a popular ingredient and entered the homes of ordinary people.

Although it is just a side dish, wasabi is very expensive. It is extremely picky about its growing environment and has strong regional characteristics. The soil for growing wasabi must be fertile, with a large temperature difference between day and night, and there must be clear and abundant water. It usually takes two years to grow before it can be harvested.

Compared with chili peppers, wasabi stimulates the nasal cavity rather than the oral cavity, so you often feel tears streaming down your face when eating it. Wasabi has a pungent smell and a stimulating taste like onions and green peppers, but the spiciness it produces will not stay for long. Good quality fresh wasabi will even have a sweet aftertaste. The "mustard" we eat in many Japanese restaurants is not actually real wasabi, but a disguised form of horseradish with a similar taste that has been seasoned and colored.

The flavor of fresh wasabi is very volatile and must be ground and eaten immediately. In high-end Japanese restaurants, watching the sushi chef finely grind wasabi with a grinding board made of shark skin turns the delicious meal into a visual enjoyment. When eating Japanese food, many people wonder whether wasabi should be spread on sashimi or dissolved in soy sauce. This question actually depends mainly on the quality of the wasabi: high-quality wasabi is often not only pungent and spicy, but the subtle sweet aftertaste is the key to the flavor balance. For food, such wasabi is naturally the finishing touch; if the wasabi is not fresh enough or of poor quality, its sweetness will be greatly reduced, and often only the pungent and spicy feeling will remain. In this way, dissolving wasabi in soy sauce as a condiment is a more appropriate choice.

In addition to being eaten with sushi and sashimi, wasabi can also be mixed into soba noodles to add some spicy stimulation to the hot summer days. The young wasabi seedlings can be used to make tempura, and wasabi can also be added to chicken soup. Japan has launched many wasabi-flavored snacks, such as wasabi-flavored kitkat and pretz.

Wasabi ice cream on the streets of Japan

I usually like to add a pinch of wasabi to miso, whether it's miso soup or miso sauce. Adding this hint of green freshness can brighten up even the plainest and mildest miso soup.

horseradish

Because of its low price, horseradish is often used as a substitute for wasabi. But in fact, people have a very long history of eating horseradish, and it appears in the traditional dishes of many ethnic groups. As early as around the 1st century AD, horseradish appeared in the Roman recipes. Around the 13th century, horseradish was introduced to Germany and gradually became the most important seasoning in Europe. The traditional Jewish delicacy "Jewish Horseradish Sauce" is made of horseradish puree mixed with vinegar, sugar and salt. There is also an interesting legend in ancient Europe: "Carrying horseradish with you can protect you from witches and dogs."

The horseradish sauce we eat is made from ground horseradish roots. Compared with wasabi, horseradish is spicier, so it is often mixed with cream as a condiment for meat and seafood.

I once ate elk meat in a Nordic restaurant, and there were some horseradish slices as a side dish. Elk is already very wild, and horseradish is even wilder. Every bite was so refreshing that it went straight to my head. Sometimes, just adding a few strands of horseradish can make the vegetable soup used to cleanse the mouth amazing.

?

In addition to its use in cooking, horseradish has another lesser-known use - a true Bloody Mary is absolutely indispensable to horseradish. The punchy flavor and kick of horseradish adds a touch of mystery to this famously dark cocktail.

mustard

When people mention wasabi, they think of the green wasabi that is eaten with sashimi. In fact, the real wasabi is what we call yellow mustard, "mustard". Mustard is one of the oldest condiments in the world, but its earliest use was as an ointment. In 600 BC it was used as a first aid ointment for scorpion stings, 100 years later it was used to treat toothaches, and until 2,000 years ago, early Roman chefs mixed crushed mustard seeds with unfermented sour grape juice, and the world's first mustard was born.

Mustard is made from mustard seeds ground into a powder and mixed with a liquid. In simple terms, there are two factors that determine the taste of mustard: the type of mustard seeds and the type of liquid. Yellow mustard seeds have the mildest flavor, while brown and black mustard seeds are more pungent. If mustard is made with vinegar, the flavor will be milder and the spicy taste will be released slowly, while mustard made with low-acid liquids will be very spicy when it is first made and the taste will gradually fade over time.

Because mustard has a mild yet pungent aroma that not only enhances the taste of the entire dish but also relieves greasiness, it is often used with various meats, such as hamburgers, grilled sausages, chicken and even seafood. In addition to the most common yellow mustard, there are also different flavors of mustard sauces such as honey mustard, whole mustard seeds, beer mustard, etc., which can fully meet various cooking needs.

My first brush with yellow mustard was on a hot dog at IKEA. Before this, I had only eaten wasabi sauce, so my impression of mustard was just two words: pungent and spicy. When I saw everyone squeezing yellow mustard on hot dogs like toothpaste, I felt both devastated and curious. However, when I plucked up the courage to take my first bite, my impression of wasabi changed. Unlike the spicy taste of wasabi sauce, yellow mustard is milder. Although the unique pungent feeling of mustard still makes me want to cry, the spiciness is mixed with a hint of sourness, and the taste is richer and more layered.

Dijon mustard

Dijon mustard, this mustard that sounds very high-end just by saying its name, will make people wonder whether it has the protection of the EU DOP (Protected Designation of Origin) like Parmesan cheese. Dijon is the capital of the Burgundy region of France, and this mustard got its name because the method of making it originated in Dijon. Although the local government has been working to promote Dijon mustard to obtain name protection, it has not been successful. Nowadays, as long as the production method is the same, whether it is produced in France or Japan, it can be called Dijon mustard.

Dijon Mustard Lamb Chops

The soul of Dijon mustard is sour grape juice called verjuice or verjus, which is the juice of unripe white grapes harvested in the Burgundy region. It combines perfectly with mustard and gives it a unique flavor. Dijon mustard is made with black mustard seeds or brown mustard seeds. The soil in the old Dijon region was rich in charcoal ash and was therefore particularly suitable for the growth of mustard. Although Dijon mustard can now be produced all over the world, the mustard seeds grown in different soils, especially the white grape juice produced in different regions, make the taste of Dijon mustard full of variations, so Dijon mustard can also be said to be a product of terroir.