Saturday, August 2, 2014

The Kobe Steak Experience

There is no visit to Japan without a Kobe Steak Experience:

Cattle were introduced into Japan in the second century as work animals, and used in rice cultivation. The mountainous topography of the islands of Japan resulted in small regions of isolated breeding, yielding herds that developed and maintained qualities in their meat that differ significantly from other breeds of cattle.
Starting in the late 18th century, and for several decades thereafter, native Japanese cattle were interbred with many European breeds, including Brown Swiss, Shorthorn and Devon. The cattle originally recognized in 1943 as "Kobe beef" were cattle from herds in the Kobe area of Japan, and could be any of four breeds of Wagyu cattle: the Akaushi (Japanese Red), the Kuroushi (Japanese Black), the Japanese Polled and the Japanese Shorthorn. Tajima is a strain of the Japanese Black.
In 1983, a marketing group was formed in order to define and promote the Kobe trademark. The Kobe Beef must fulfill all the following conditions:
  • Tajima cattle born in Hyōgo Prefecture
  • Farm feeding in Hyōgo Prefecture
  • Bullock (steer) or castrated bull, to purify the beef
  • Processed at slaughterhouses in Kobe, Nishinomiya, Sanda, Kakogawa and Himeji in Hyōgo Prefecture.
  • Marbling ratio, called BMS,of level 6 and above.
  • Meat Quality Score of 4 or 5
  • Gross weight of beef from one animal is 470 kg or less.

The cattle are fed on grain fodder and brushed sometimes for setting fur.The melting point of fat of Kobe beef (Tajima cattle) is lower than common beef fat.





Cows that drink beer, are massaged with rice wine and listen to classical music? For meat lovers, Kobe beef is considered the epitome of fine dining. And at a few hundred bucks a pop you’d want it to be.

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