Wagyu

The Wagyu beef is a cattle breed of Japanese origin and the most expensive and most exclusive domestic cattle in the world. Wagyu translates to " Japanese ox ". The exact translation is Wa = Japan-/japanisch and Gyu = beef. The breed is one of the Japanese cattle (和 牛Wa - gyu ) and is in Japanese Tajima - Ushi (Japanese Black cattle; literally Tajima beef但 马 牛, ) called.

A peculiarity of this " indigenous " cattle is that they hardly crosses were subjected throughout its long history. They have been used for centuries exclusively as work animals. The consumption was forbidden by the laws of Buddhism in Japan. After the opening of Japan in 1868 the breed for use as beef cattle has been optimized in their meat yield through breeding. There are three commonly occurring Wagyu breeds today. Japanese Black ( Wagyu Kuroge ), Japanese Shorthorn ( Tankaku Wagyu ) and Japanese Brown ( Akage Wagyu ). However, Japanese Black dominates the market.

The Wagyu beef is known as Kobe beef, which is so far a not entirely correct term, as only the meat of the Wagyu cattle, which was born in the Japanese region Kobe, reared, fattened and slaughtered, may bear the designation Kobe. This is comparable with the champagne or the Nuremberg gingerbread. 2009 by a total of around 774,000 slaughtered in Japan Wagyu cattle were allowed to be only 3066 declared Kobe meat.

The export of Wagyu meat, live cattle, embryos and semen from Japan is strictly prohibited. Today's population outside of Japan comes from animals that have been exported for scientific purposes, the mid-90s in the United States. The largest Wagyu cattle herds outside of Japan are located in the USA, Australia and Canada. In Europe, the Wagyu beef is held by only a few breeders in Germany until 2006, the first Wagyu animals were born.

Wagyu cattle are usually black, although there are also red animals. They are medium sized ( bulls: 800-1000 kg, cows: 450-600 kg ) with a well-trained shoulder and powerful, clearly angled hindquarters. Before the slaughter they get partially a special concentrate based on cereals, sugar beet and potatoes. Alcohol (eg beer) is not used in the Japanese farms, the exact feed mixture is kept secret by each breeder. We do not use artificial growth hormones, and prevention of diseases are no antibiotics used. The Wagyu beef requires up ready for slaughter on average at least twice as much time as a conventional beef.

Unlike other cattle, the fat is in the meat of the Wagyu cattle rather than localized, but distributed evenly in a very fine marbling in the muscle meat. Wagyu meat has in comparison to other breeds of cattle a up to 50% higher proportion of unsaturated fatty acids.

In combination with the rare occurrence and their slow growth, the meat of the Wagyu cattle is not only a delicacy but also a sought-after luxury product. For purebred Wagyu cattle prices achieved in the five-digit euro range. The kilogram Wagyu fillet in Germany costs about 350 euros a kilo Ribeye 150 euros and roast beef approx 160 euros. Only in recent years also offer gourmet restaurants featuring steak of Wagyu cattle that are considering the purchase prices of around 50 euros.