Iceland, where wasabi grows

“Find the mistake” is what you want to shout when you read this headline. Wasabi, one of the most demanding plants of all, which is grown in Japan at a pleasant 20 degrees in the hills of the Izu peninsula, grows in the harsh climate of Iceland? The wasabi fields in Shizuoka are laid out in terraces so that the plant’s thirst can always be satisfied with fresh meltwater from Mount Fuji. Harvesting is laborious and the ripening period takes up to three years.

Wasabi fields in Izu (Japan) are narrow and follow the course of the river down the gentle mountain slopes. Some of the fields are shaded with nets. The plants grow very slowly and the cultivation of wasabi is very labor-intensive / © Photo: Georg Berg
Wasabi fields in Izu (Japan) are narrow and follow the course of the river down the gentle mountain slopes. Some of the fields are shaded by nets. The plants grow very slowly and the cultivation of wasabi is very labor-intensive / © Photo: Georg Berg

In 2015, right after graduating from university, two young engineers choose the capricious Japanese pungent to create Iceland’s first export vegetable. Nordic Wasabi’s business idea is an exciting start-up story and at the heart of it are: Iceland’s geothermal energy, the best drinking water, patient investors and a product that inspires chefs worldwide. We were there and spoke to the founder of Nordic Wasabi and Icelandic top chef Rúnar Pierre Heriveaux about real wasabi, the possibilities of high-tech greenhouses based on geothermal energy and the success of their product in top international gastronomy.

Nordic Wasabi founder Ragnar Atli Tomason, left, and Olli Hall, responsible for marketing and sales, in front of the photo wall of the first Wasabi greenhouse in Iceland / © Photo: Georg Berg
Nordic Wasabi founder Ragnar Atli Tomason, pictured left, and Olli Hall, Marketing, in front of the photo wall of the first wasabi greenhouse in Iceland / © Photo: Georg Berg

Geothermal energy for new food concepts

Thanks to the hot springs, strawberries, tomatoes and cucumbers have long been grown in greenhouses in Iceland. They are also labeled as local produce in the supermarket and are by far the cheapest vegetables available. In 2015, engineers Johann Hansen and Ragnar Tomasson founded the start-up Jurt Hydroponics . At the time, they were thinking beyond cucumber cultivation and wanted to use their country’s resources to produce Iceland’s first export vegetables. Geothermal energy and the best drinking water of volcanic origin are the two key factors for them to try something new. Their choice falls on a very capricious plant.

Vegetables from Icelandic greenhouses heated with geothermal energy / © Photo: Georg Berg
Vegetables from Icelandic greenhouses heated with geothermal energy / © Photo: Georg Berg
Real wasabi is grated with light pressure in a circular motion on an oroshigane grater. The grating surface is made of dried shark skin / © Photo: Georg Berg
Real wasabi is grated on an oroshigane grater with light pressure in a circular motion. The grating surface is made from dried shark skin / © Photo: Georg Berg

Green like the northern lights that dance across Iceland’s skies in the winter months, so is the freshly grated real wasabi that delights top chefs around the world. Wasabi has its home in Japan. There, the Japanese horseradish grows on terraced fields, with its roots on the Izu peninsula in the flowing meltwater of Mount Fuji. Harvesting is laborious and the ripening period takes up to three years. Hon wasabi, as the real wasabi is called, is a scarce commodity. It is expensive, even in Japan, does not keep for very long and is difficult to obtain in Europe. This makes wasabi the perfect vegetable for startup founders Johan and Ragnar. Nordic Wasabi is set to become a niche product for top gastronomy in Europe and the USA, where small production quantities promise a good profit margin.

The wasabi plant is perennial. While the flowers hang down withered here, the green leaves stretch towards the light. In the greenhouse, wasabi only takes 18 months to harvest. In its native Japan, it takes almost twice as long / © Photo: Georg Berg
The wasabi plant is perennial. While the flowers hang down withered here, the green leaves stretch towards the light. In the greenhouse, wasabi only takes 18 months to harvest. In its native Japan, it takes almost twice as long / © Photo: Georg Berg

In collaboration with the University of Reykjavik and in close cooperation with Japanese institutions, a variety for greenhouse conditions has been successfully bred from Japanese plants. Research and preparation take years. Investors have to be patient, because even in the greenhouse, a wasabi rhizome takes 1.5 years to harvest. Today, wasabi grows as far as the eye can see in the ultra-modern greenhouse in Egilstadir. The temperature here is a pleasant 20 degrees Celsius all year round, even during Iceland’s long, cold winter. Irrigation and lighting are controlled fully automatically from Reykjavik. Only the harvesting, pruning and packaging are done by hand.

In the ultra-modern wasabi greenhouse, many things are automated. But harvesting, cutting and packaging are all done by hand / © Photo: Georg Berg
Much of the work in the ultra-modern wasabi greenhouse is automated. But harvesting, cutting and packaging are all done by hand / © Photo: Georg Berg

The worldwide wasabi lie

In the vast majority of cases, anyone who thinks they know wasabi is being taken in by the wasabi lie. It is highly likely that the green dots served with sushi are a fake made from horseradish, mustard and food coloring. And what does real wasabi taste like? Its taste is often compared to that of horseradish. But wasabi is far more complex. Freshly grated wasabi initially has a fairly harmless sweet taste, but then the volatile mustard oil gases, which we also know from horseradish, form. These mustard oil gases rise into the nose and stimulate the pain receptors in the nasal mucous membranes. Although horseradish also produces volatile mustard oils, it lacks the fresh, grassy taste of wasabi. Wasabi is grated with a stainless steel grater or the traditional Oroshiki grater made from shark skin just before consumption. During a meeting with Nordic Wasabi founder Ragnar in Reykjavik, I try out Icelandic wasabi for myself.

Spicy kick from real wasabi.  The spiciness of freshly grated wasabi reaches its peak after five minutes. Olli Hall, Director of Marketing and Sales at Nordic Wasabi, and food editor Angela Berg look at the amused founder of Nordic Wasabi, Ragnar Atli Tomason (not pictured) / © Photo: Georg Berg
Hot kick from real wasabi. The spiciness of freshly grated wasabi reaches its peak after five minutes / © Photo: Georg Berg

The taste of wasabi

The freshly grated paste smells fresh and grassy. The first taste impression is slightly sweet and reminiscent of green banana, but then the spicy kick shoots up to the forehead region. Freshly grated, wasabi reaches its peak after five minutes. Ragnar Tomasson raves about how versatile wasabi is in the kitchen and that it can be combined with almost anything. He arranges a meeting with chef Rúnar Pierre Heriveaux from the restaurant Öx in Reykjavik. Öx only has 17 seats and you can book the Chef’s Table with up to 18 courses. In 2022, Öx was awarded a Michelin star for the first time and has successfully held the award ever since. Michelin-starred chef Heriveaux is a great fan of Icelandic produce. For him, it is a stroke of luck that a plant as aromatically complex as wasabi is now one of Iceland’s native products.

In conversation with Rúnar Pierre Heriveaux, star chef from Restaurant Öx in Reykjavik, food journalist Angela Berg finds out why he seasons around half of the 10 to 12 courses he prepares with wasabi / © Photo: Georg Berg
In conversation with Rúnar Pierre Heriveaux, Michelin-starred chef from Restaurant Öx in Reykjavik, food journalist Angela Berg finds out why he seasons around half of every 10 to 12 courses he prepares with wasabi / © Photo: Georg Berg

The Future of Food

Iceland has only 360,000 inhabitants. Many young Icelanders go abroad to study and return home with creative ideas on sustainability and resource conservation. New food concepts, such as Nordic Wasabi, are developed with a wealth of ideas or entire industries are rethought. Recently, the 100 Percent Fish project by Icelander Thor Sigfusson has caused an international stir. It is about nothing less than a contribution to combating hunger in the world. Currently, half of every fish is wasted during the production process. If fish and seafood were fully utilized, people’s protein supply could be increased enormously. Icelanders are committed to creating more value from every fish. Fish is not just a fillet, but the skin and bones are used to make food supplements, medical plasters, beauty products and even fashion or bags and lampshades. In Iceland, a recycling rate of 80 percent has now been achieved. White fish such as cod no longer end up in the garbage. New concepts are also being developed to combat marine pollution. Microplastics in the oceans originate to a large extent from fishing nets. At the Icelandic Ocean Cluster think tank in the port of Reykjavik, the vision of 100 Percent Fish also includes a modern fishing method in which the fish no longer go into nets but are caught with light.

The Whale Museum also shows marine pollution caused by plastic waste in a separate room / © Photo: Georg Berg
The Whale Museum also shows marine pollution caused by plastic waste in a separate room / © Photo: Georg Berg

Wondrous Iceland Stories

Magical, mystical, whimsical. On our trip through Iceland, we experienced overwhelming nature, enjoyed the benefits of geothermal energy and tasted many an outlandish dish or of the beer that was only legalized in 1989. In Iceland there are leader sheep, but under no circumstances ponies. Instead, the descendants of the Vikings today have heated sidewalks, still seething volcanoes and a lot of creativity, which in the long dark months is the best recipe against the onset of winter depression. Other ‘Wait a Minute!’ episodes are about hairy beer bottles, petrified trolls and wishing stones. Fermented, cruelly stinking Greenland shark contrasts with rye bread baked in hot earth. The whales that regularly appear off Húsavík are a popular photo motif during whale watching.

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