Real wasabi, Wasabia japonica, is apparently one of the most expensive vegetables to grow. That green stuff you're eating? Ground horseradish, Chinese mustard, and, you guessed it, green food coloring. Yum.
According to The Atlantic, "Worldwide, experts believe that this imposter combination masquerades as wasabi about 99% of the time."
Above, meet Shigeo Iida, 75, whose family has grown real wasabi for eight generations.
(via NextDraft)
image: HK 北角 North Point 和田 Wada Japanese Restaurant 放題 Buffet dinner 山葵 green Wasabi Mar-2013 Read the rest
I don't play piano but I just can't get enough of this series of music lessons from my pal Mikael Jorgensen of Wilco and Quindar. The clips are smart. Funny. Earnest. And weird. Just like Mikael.
Read the rest
A HAZMAT team evacuated a Rochester, New York high-rise apartment building yesterday after residents complained of burning sensations in their eyes and once the fire department investigated. They found a 55-gallon sealed drum in one of the apartments. Turns out, it contained donated clothes packed for Africa. The cause of the tennants' breathing difficulties and watery eyes was actually a hot pepper microwaved by one of the building's residents.
"I do not know what kind of pepper it was, but clearly spicy enough to affect the people in the hallway," said fire department lieutenant Dana Cieslinski.
(WHAM) Read the rest
Natural color! Shake well! Named after a city in eastern Thailand!
Read the rest
Thinkgeek's Ghost Pepper Super Hot Candy Balls ($10 for about 44 balls) are red-hot candy balls dusted and infused with powdered Bhut Jolokia (ghost pepper) and Trinidad Scorpion Pepper, coming in at about one million Scovilles. Also, they may contain peanuts, so there's that. Read the rest
