The powdered stuff as well as much of what comes in a tube and what you are normally served in Sushi restaurants is just regular horseradish with green food colouring. As Nikko said the real stuff is amazing! Wasabia japonica, a nubby, green version of its cousin, the western horseradish root - but that is where the similarity ends! I love using it as a salad dressing addition. Rice vinegar, wasabi, a touch of oil and wow wake up those taste buds. Real wasabi needs runnng water to grow. I also met Doug Lambrecht an his reps at the fancy food show in SF. Thy have a great product line. I have been buying from a west coast supplier for years called pacific Farms. Here are two growers http://www.realwasabi.com/ http://www.freshwasabi.com/ Shanti/Mary-Anne