Wasabi, or Japanese horseradish, is a common ingredient used to add heat and an umami flavor to many dishes. You may have even been dared to eat a big spoonful of it at a restaurant (or maybe that’s just me). So naturally, you may be wondering, how hot is wasabi?
The short answer…anecdotally, wasabi causes more discomfort than a Bell Pepper or Poblano Pepper. And a similar level of discomfort as most Jalapeño Peppers.
Chili peppers like jalapeños are measured with specific units of heat, and wasabi isn’t measured on the same scale. But let’s dive a bit deeper.
We’re going to take an in-depth look at the spiciness level of wasabi, peppers and other spicy foods you’ve probably tried.
For more info and a spiciness comparison chart (for all of you who are visual learners), keep on reading!
What is wasabi?
If you’ve ever been to a restaurant that serves Japanese cuisine or a Sushi Restaurant, then you’ve probably been served wasabi alongside ginger and soy sauce.
Served in North America, wasabi is almost always a mixture of horseradish and green food coloring.
Wait what…?
Yes, real wasabi, or Wasabia Japonica, is actually a rare ingredient that is tricky to grow. Genuine wasabi plants are native to Japan. The plant is grown globally, but the supply often can’t meet the demand.
The rhizome, or the root-like part of the plant, is what is grated into the wasabi we know and love.
- When grated, fresh wasabi actually loses its pungency in about 15-20 minutes.
- The strong taste of genuine wasabi is fresh, clean, earthy and unmatched (unlike imitation wasabi).
- Wasabi is usually sold as a rhizome, in powder form, or as a ready-to-use bright green paste that’s a similar consistency to tomato paste.
Why is wasabi spicy?
The wasabi paste you’re probably familiar with (vs. true wasabi) comes from a plant similar to spicy mustard, radishes, and horseradish, which produces a chemical called ‘allyl isothiocyanate’.
This chemical creates a heat different from chili peppers:
- When the plant is cut or grated, it releases chemicals which can be quite irritating to your nose and eyes and creates a burning sensation.
- Because wasabi and peppers have different chemicals that affect our taste buds, the spiciness of wasabi is a different sensation than the spiciness of peppers.
What kind of heat is wasabi?
Wasabi has a different type of heat than peppers.
Similar to horseradish, the burning sensation from wasabi is shorter in duration, only lasting a few moments.
The chemicals in wasabi create an aromatic effect, and thus, have a reaction located in the nostrils more than the back of the throat or the mouth. The burning sensation often clears your nasal passages.
Compare this to a hot pepper, where the burning sensation can last minutes or more and is usually located in the mouth.
Why are chili peppers spicy?
Peppers contain a chemical compound called capsaicin which causes the sensation of spiciness.
The capsaicin is found in the white membranes and on the seeds (which contact the membranes) of the pepper.
The heat level of peppers is measured on the Scoville Scale.
What is the Scoville Scale?
The Scoville Scale was developed as a way to measure the spiciness of chili peppers. The scale has a number rating in Scoville Heat Units (or SHUs). These Scoville Units measure the capsaicin content in the peppers.
Wilbur Scoville created the Scoville Scale in 1912. If you’d like to learn more about the origins of the Scoville Scale, you can read more about it in this Masterclass Article.
The modern Scoville Scale
Scoville Heat Units are used today to compare the heat level of different hot sauce brands and chili peppers like Jalapeños and Habanero peppers. Compared to other peppers on the scale, Jalapeños are actually considered mild! See below for the chart of the most common peppers are their heat rating:
How spicy is wasabi?
Wasabi Scoville Value
Because wasabi is not a pepper (and doesn’t contain any capsaicin content), it’s not on the Scoville scale.
So, since it’s not on the Scoville Scale, how do we compare wasabi’s heat levels to other foods we know and love?
Different Types of Heat
As we just mentioned above, the different types of heat are created by different chemicals. Below are common foods and the chemical that creates the burning sensation it’s associated with:
| Food Group | Chemical |
|---|---|
| Wasabi, Horseradish, Radishes | Allyl Isothiocyanate |
| Chili Peppers | Capsaicin |
| Peppercorns (like Black Pepper) | Piperine |
| Ginger | Gingerol |
| Onions & Garlic | Allicin |
Each chemical creates a different burning sensation. We can compare these various sensations by creating heat attributes and descriptors.
Heat Profile and Descriptions
There are 5 attributes that are often used to describe the heat profiles of chili peppers (and other foods).
We can use these attributes to help compare where wasabi’s heat falls in relation to these other foods.
| Heat Attribute | Description |
|---|---|
| 1. Development | Immediate reaction or delayed by 5, 15, 30s or longer |
| 2. Duration | Sensation lasts for a short time, or for many minutes or hours |
| 3. Location | Where the heat is felt: nasal passage, lips, front of mouth, tip of tongue, mid-palate, or the throat |
| 4. Feeling | Sharp pin pricks or flat sensation as if the heat is being smeared with a brush |
| 5. Intensity | Described in Scoville Heat Units or commercially labeled mild, medium, hot, or extra hot |
Let’s take a look at the Habanero Pepper’s heat attributes as an example.
- In general, chili peppers have a delayed flat heat, that lingers in the back of the throat or the tip of the tongue.
- Wasabi’s heat, on the other hand, is said to develop rapidly, last for a brief duration, and have a sharp sensation located in the nasal passage.
Comparing wasabi’s heat to chili peppers’ heat
As we’ve mentioned before, Wasabi is not a pepper and cannot be measured on the Scoville Scale. All we have to go on are subjective approximations. Wasabi is said to have a heat level similar to Jalapeño Peppers which fall between 2,500 SHU and 8,000 SHU .
Given that range, let’s take a look as some common chili peppers, and approximate if wasabi is hotter than said pepper.
Bell peppers
| Food | Scoville Scale | Hotter than Wasabi? |
|---|---|---|
| Bell Pepper | ≈ 0 SHU | No |
Banana peppers
| Food | Scoville Scale | Hotter than Wasabi? |
|---|---|---|
| Banana Pepper | ≈ 100-500 SHU | No |
Jalapeño peppers
| Food | Scoville Scale | Hotter than Wasabi? |
|---|---|---|
| Jalapeño Pepper | ≈ 2,500 – 8,000 SHU | Maybe |
habanero peppers
| Food | Scoville Scale | Hotter than Wasabi? |
|---|---|---|
| Habanero Pepper | ≈ 100,000 – 350,000 SHU | Yes |
ghost pepper
| Food | Scoville Scale | Hotter than Wasabi? |
|---|---|---|
| Ghost Pepper | ≈ 850,000 – 1,040,000 SHU | Yes |
Carolina Reaper
| Food | Scoville Scale | Hotter than Wasabi? |
|---|---|---|
| Carolina Reaper | ≈ 1,600,000 – 2,200,000 SHU | Yes |
Ted-Ed Video of Spiciness Explained
Watch this Ted-Ed video to learn the science behind spiciness!
Other Foods:
Even though other foods like black pepper and ginger contain different chemicals than peppers, their heat sensation is closer to chili peppers than wasabi. So, we can more accurately approximate where they fall on the Scoville Scale.
Fresh Ginger
| Food | Scoville Scale | Hotter than Wasabi? |
|---|---|---|
| Fresh Ginger | ≈ 60,000 SHU | Yes |
| Ground Ginger | ≈ 160,000 SHU | Yes |
Black Pepper
| Food | Scoville Rating | Hotter than Wasabi? |
|---|---|---|
| Black Pepper | ≈ 100,000 SHU | Yes |
Tabasco Hot Sauce
| Food | Scoville Rating | Hotter than Wasabi? |
|---|---|---|
| Tabasco Peppers | ≈ 30,000-50,000 SHU | Yes |
| Tabasco Hot Sauce | ≈ 100 – 8000 SHU | Maybe |
Other Wasabi Questions
Genuine wasabi plants are native to Japan. The plant is grown globally, but the supply often can’t meet the demand.
Served in North America, wasabi is almost always a mixture of horseradish and green food coloring.
The wasabi paste you’re probably familiar with has chemical called ‘allyl isothiocyanate’ which irritates our nasal passages.
Summary
- Spicy foods cause different reactions in our bodies because they contain different chemicals.
| Food Group | Chemical |
|---|---|
| Wasabi, Horseradish, Radishes | Allyl Isothiocyanate |
| Chili Peppers | Capsaicin |
| Peppercorns (like Black Pepper) | Piperine |
| Ginger | Gingerol |
| Onions & Garlic | Allicin |
- Spiciness of chili peppers is measured on the Scoville Scale.
- The heat levels of onions and garlic are measured on the Pyruvate Scale.
- Wasabi isn’t on either of these scales, so its heat can’t be compared directly to chili peppers or onions and garlic.
- Wasabi’s heat is sharp, shorter in duration, located in the nasal passage, and relatively mild.
- Chili peppers often have a delayed flat heat, that lingers in the back of the throat or the tip of the tongue.
- It’s been said that wasabi’s heat is similar to Jalapeño Peppers (2,500-8,000 SHUs).
Sources:
- Masterclass, ‘A Guide to the Scoville Scale: How Spicy Peppers Are Ranked’
- FieryFlavors, ‘What Is Horseradish?’
- Pepper Scale, ‘Pepper Heat Vs. Horseradish Heat: PepperScale Showdown’
- Science Notes, ‘Scoville Scale for Peppers and Other Hot Chemicals’
- Science Direct, ‘Sensory properties of chile pepper heat – and its importance to food quality and cultural preference.’
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