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We're happy to report that from Yahoo!'s home page you're only three or four clicks away from detailed information about the use, content, and cultivation of wasabi, known botanically as either Wasabia japonica or Eutrema japonica, a semi-aquatic member of the Cabbage family. The thickened stem of this perennial is typically ground into a pale green horseradish-like paste, then served as a condiment, along with soy sauce and pickled ginger, to accompany Japanese-style sushi and sashimi. First click: We typed "wasabi" into Yahoo!'s main search box, which resulted in a link to a commercial category called Wasabi, located in our directory of web
sites as a subcategory of Food Companies > Condiments. Second click: Yahoo!'s directory lists three unique web sites in the Wasabi category. Since this is a commercial category, it's safe to assume that these sites all sell wasabi in some form. We tried to pick a site that would provide information as well. Third click: Pacific Farms is an Oregon grower and purveyor of fresh wasabi plants and products. We looked at the navigation menu displayed along the left side of the home page. Each subsection of the site is represented by a green wasabi leaf icon -- we clicked on the one labeled "About Wasabi," scrolled through
an essay about growing wasabi, then clicked again to more technical information. Here we read about the biochemical properties of this rhizome, which is usually processed and sold as a paste or dried powder. Apparently, wasabi's medicinal properties were first documented in a 10th-century Japanese medical encyclopaedia. Wasabi is believed to act as an antidote to food poisoning, which is a useful property when served with fresh raw fish. Research in Japan suggests that wasabi may also have anti-carcinogenic properties. It can certainly clear your sinuses. We discovered some tantalizing recipes at New Zealand Wasabi Limited, and a confirmation of the cultural and nutritional
information we'd already found. We suspect that if we could read Japanese we'd be able to learn much more.
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