What is Wagyu Beef?
Wagyu (pronounced Wag-you) is a breed of cattle that originated from Japan in the 2nd century.
Wagyu beef has always been surrounded by lore, mystique and prestige. Tales of pampered cows being massaged with sake, fed beer and being played classical music are commonplace about the industry, although modern Wagyu farming is more about exclusively fed, performance bred animals with elite bloodlines and superior genetics
The meat from Wagyu cattle is renowned worldwide for its predisposition to heavy marbling (finely interspersed specks of intramuscular fat within the muscle), and modern day Wagyu cattle herds are specifically bred to achieve these certain characteristics, which provides for enhanced eating quality.
Highly prized for its uncompromising quality, Wagyu beef has a well deserved reputation as the most exclusive beef in the world.
FAQ about Wagyu Beef
What is Kobe beef?
Kobe is Japan’s 6th largest city on the island of Honshu. Farming land that surrounds Kobe is the birthplace of one of the most famous and highly exclusive Wagyu bloodlines.
As is the case with Champagne and Parma ham, the highest grading Wagyu beef originating from this specified region is called Kobe beef.
Why Wagyu? What’s the difference between Wagyu and conventional meat?
The main difference is the intramuscular fat content of the meat. This has been established because Wagyu cattle have been bred up specifically for TASTE, which has resulted in three important points of difference at the meat level – (1) there are more intramuscular fat cells in Wagyu, (2) the intramuscular fat in Wagyu beef continues to grow throughout the life of the animal and (3) the intramuscular fat in Wagyu has a unique chemical composition.
What is Wagyu marbling?
Marbling is the intramuscular fat deposits found in muscle fibres of all beef. Wagyu cattle are
specifically bred to be heavily marbled, as this is what gives Wagyu beef its unique taste, texture and juiciness. It is scored and graded in Australia using AUS-MEAT’s marble score reference and the Meat Standards Australia reference.
Is it healthy with all that fat?
University studies have revealed that aside from being a good source of vitamins and nutrients Wagyu beef contains high amounts of omega’s 3 fatty oils, as well as monounsaturated fatty acids. These are known to have a positive effect on the bodies cholesterol levels and it is believed due to the high CLA (conjugated linoleic acid) content Wagyu also has the potential to reduce diabetes, Alzheimer’s and heart conditions.
Why has Wagyu boomed in Australia?
Japan, Korea and the USA have been largely responsible for the growth of the Australian Wagyu industry, however, the Australian market is now playing an increasingly important role.
Japan was the first country to buy Australian produced Wagyu beef.
Read full articles at: bestWAGYU.com
