Japan is not only known for its natural wonders, beautiful heritage sites and traditional arts. It is also widely recognized as a popular foodie destination. Food lovers all over the globe would definitely agree that Japanese cuisine is one of the best tasting food in the world. Among its food choices that gained international popularity is the mouth-watering wagyu or Japanese beef. Wagyu refers to any of the four breeds of beef cattle in Japan.
In recent years, a lot Japanese farmers make sure to pamper their cows with high quality feeds. However, due to an increase in feeds and decrease in grazing, the cattles become larger with higher fat percentage. More and more health enthusiasts are looking for this lean meat substitute widely known as wagyu. In order to cater to the preferences of these health-conscious meat lovers, black cattles in the western prefecture of Wakayama have been put on a diet to pave the way to a new less-fatty wagyu brand.
Since 2015, the local government of Wakayama, in cooperation with private cattle farmers have exerted efforts to develop the Kishu Waka Beef from Japanese cows that consume low-calorie feed. They have fortunately succeeded in lowering the amount of fat in the meat by around 10 percent. In addition, they have also managed to find an effective way to increase the vitamin levels in wagyu by feeding the cattles with a combination of ecofeed and pomace. The said mixture is composed of some of the local specialties of Wakayama prefecture: orange juice and soy sauce.
The quality of Wagyu is generally evaluated based on “fat marbling” or the distribution of fat through the meat, its firmness and texture as well as its fat brightness. Japanese beef with more generous marbling are usually graded the highest. But nowadays, health conscious millenials and foodies prefer lean meat Wagyu over those with generous fat marbling.
Reference:
New wagyu brand aims to attract health-conscious meat lovers
Japan’s wagyu beef looks to conquer the world
