That Spicy Green Paste Next to Your Sushi Is Probably Not Wasabi

I’ll take an unagi roll, some tuna nigiri, and a side of lies, please. The dab of spicy green paste that accompanies your sushi may go by the name wasabi, but it’s actually something else entirely. What we call wasabi is almost always just a mix of horseradish, mustard, and a bit of green dye. Because of similarities in their chemical compounds, which you can see detailed below in a new video from the American Chemical Society’s Reactions series, horseradish makes a less-spicy (but passable) substitute for wasabi. Why aren’t sushi restaurants just serving the real thing?

http://gizmodo.com