Wasabi Peas

I was introdced to wasabi peas this afternoon. Let me tell you that they're addictive. For those of you who might be unfamiliar with wasabi I'll explain. Wasabi is a plant that is finely ground and mixed into a paste to be used in Japanse cuisine i.g. raw fish, as well as noodle dishes. A common practice is to substitute a mixture of horseradish, mustard, and green food coloring for wasabi. The reasoning behind this is that wasabi is expensive. Why is wasabi so expensive? From what I can gather about it is that wasabi is one difficult plant to grow since there are only certian climates that it will grow. Wasabi does have a spicy taste to it but the spicines is not quite the same as that of peppers. The reason is that the burn doens't last as long and from what I understand there are vapors that burn the sinus cavity.

Anyway back to the wasabi peas. I found them to be surprisingly sweet. I was surprised in the sense that I was expecting the bite of the horseradish so that left me wide open for the surprise. Don't get me wrong they aren't sweet like candy but they have just enough to be that more enjoyable. As for the spiciness factor the peas weren't too bad but the horsradish did give enough of a bite to them. I thought the peas had a nice crunchy texture to them, almost like a nut. So if you enjoy horseradish and can find a can of wasabi peas than by all means buy a can or two.