Wagyu is exclusive to Japan (and Australia) However, in its purest form, wagyu beef can only be produced in Japan since the main cattle that wagyu is produced from are only allowed to exist in Japan. The breeds of cattle used for wagyu include the Japanese Black, Japanese Brown, Japanese Polled, and Japanese Shorthorn.
The literal translation of wagyu is “Japanese Cattle” In Japanese, the term “wa” means Japanese and “gyu” means cattle. Meaning, technically, any cow that is raised in Japan can be considered wagyu.
Wagyu Cattle need to be raised in a stress-free environment In order to make sure that the cows produce the highest quality of meat, the farmers must make sure that wagyu cows have a comfortable environment to live in. If the cows are stressed it might make the meat tense and affect the flavor and texture of the final product. Source
Every piece of wagyu comes with a Certificate of Authenticity In order to combat the countless counterfeit meat claiming to be wagyu, each piece of wagyu comes with a Certificate of Authenticity. With this certificate, you can trace the origin of the meat, the slaughter date of the cow, and much more details that can help you authenticate the beef.
Wagyu has A LOT more fat than most beef Fat equals flavors and wagyu definitely does not lack any fat. For comparison, the USDA grading system mandates that USDA Prime beef must be at 8%-12% of marbled fat, while top quality A5 Wagyu contains 45%-60% fat. That’s a lot of fat!
The fat from wagyu beef is actually very healthy Wagyu beef contains 300% more monounsaturated fat than normal beef, as well as high omega 3 and omega 6 content. These fats are believed to lower risk of cardiovascular disease, Alzheimer’s, and cancer.
A5 Japanese Wagyu is currently the highest quality wagyu you can get Since there can be differences between each cow, the Japanese Meat Grading Association (JMGA) created a grading system that ranks the meat based on various factors. The highest possible ranking wagyu can currently receive is A5, hence popularity of A5 Japanese Wagyu.
Kobe beef is a type of wagyu Although it might be confusing at first, all Kobe beef is considered to be wagyu, but not all wagyu is considered to be Kobe beef. The reason for this is because Kobe beef is a type of wagyu that comes from Kobe, a city in Japan.
Wagyu cow are one of the best treated farmed cows in the world You might have heard that wagyu cows are massaged daily and serenaded with classical music before being slaughtered. Although this is not exactly true, the origin of these ideas comes from the way wagyu cattle are treated. Wagyu cows are treated extremely well in order to not stress them out. On top of this, even though most beef cattle are slaughtered at 15-20 months, wagyu cows get to live until 30 months of age or older.
There are three main regions that produce wagyu The main regions for wagyu production are: Kobe, Matsusaka, and Omi. These regions are known as the “Big Three” and are said to produce the best and best tasting beef in Japan.
