The Characteristics Of Wagyu Beef And The Reasons Behind High Prices

Characteristics of Wagyu beef (freepic)

YOGYAKARTA - For steak fans, the name Wagyu must be familiar. This Japanese beef is famous for its premium quality and high price. So what are the characteristics of the wagyu beef?

However, what makes Wagyu meat so special and different from other types of beef? Let's reveal the secret.

Reporting from the Sakura page, wagyu is a specialty in umami. This meat is special because the marblings or lines of evenly lit fat are all over the meat.

Thanks to the unique characteristics of the four Japanese breeds of cattle, Wagyu offers a very delicious and luxurious dining experience.

Before continuing, also read articles discussing How to Choose Qualityless, Healthy, And Consumption-worthy Beef

There are four types of Wagyu cattle, mostly Japanese Black cattle. They are in Tottori, Hyogo, Shimane, and Okayama Prefectures. Japanese Brown/Red is the second most popular, mainly found in the South (Kochi, Kumamoto).

Thanks to the unique characteristics of the four breed cows from Japan, Wagyu offers a very delicious and luxurious dining experience.

Marbling comes from intramuscular fat cells, as well as those that distinguish standard beef. Because Wagyu's cow is more physically resistant, the fat cells are more uniform in all muscles.

Because of the muscles, Wagyu meat is pinker and much softer so that it produces meat pieces that taste more and are softer.

This type of meat can be cooked for a long period of time without becoming hard or dry. Wagyu beef also has better and healthier fats than other types of meat.

In addition, due to melting at lower temperatures, you will feel the fat much faster when eating this type of meat. When the steak is cooked, the fat marbling melts into muscle fibers, allowing it to maintain more moisture and taste.

Reporting from Britannica, one of the reasons why Wagyu beef is so high is due to the long, natural, slow animal growth and high level of care.

This cow is fed two to three times a day, the food consists of various combinations of seeds, straw, and wheat all of which are high-energy and high-cost ingredients commonly imported.

In Japan, Wagyu cattle usually grow up on small farms and receive attention. Sometimes there will even be special rituals to create a stress-free environment for cattle.

Some farmers even massage their animals, which do encourage relaxation, which may have little direct impact on the quality of the meat. This habit is sometimes done to relax the muscles of animals in the winter months.

There is even a story about farmers in Japan who feed their animals beer to stimulate appetite and increase meat marbling. However, there is a possibility that these stories arise from misunderstandings.

The authors can make a translation error from sporadic habits, where some farmers mix side products from the process of making sake with feed as supplements.

Several genetic conditions and mutations have also been noted, making this type of cow vulnerable to certain diseases, including bovin spongiform encephalopathy, or mad cow disease.

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