What does "A5 Beef" mean?
If you love to eat delicious beef, or if you are interested in sophisticated cuisines, surely you have heard about "Wagyu" or "Wagyu beef" before. However, you might not know well about Wagyu. What does it mean "Wagyu"? What is "A5 Beef"? Is it the same meat Wagyu sold in the US and Wagyu in Japan? If you want to know the right answers, let’s read the articles below!
What does "Wagyu" mean?
Wagyu means cattle that qualify all of the conditions below.- The cattle must be breeds which are approved by Japanese Fair Competition Codes for Meat.
- The cattle must be born and bred in Japan.
- The cattle must be registered on the traceability system.
Wagyu in the US
Today, you can often see "Wagyu beef" at your local supermarket. However, in most case, this is Wagyu bred outside Japan. That includes Wagyu raised outside Japan and crossbreeds between Wagyu and other breeds and almost all of Wagyu beef in the US is the meat of cross breeds. There is no qualification except above, so the quality of the meat is not guaranteed.Why is Wagyu delicious?
When breeds of Wagyu grow fat, their meats tend to become marbled more easily than other breeds. This makes Wagyu beef softer and has a richer taste than others.In addition, each brand has a high standard of certification, so the quality of the meat is guaranteed.
What is more, each breeder raises their cattle with longer time than usual, in their own unique methods. For example, some breeders give their cattle beer (to increase their appetite) and massage them (to average their fat in their muscle).
Why is Wagyu expensive?
There are three reasons why Wagyu beef is expensive.First, the cost of copulation is higher than normal cattle.
Second, the term of breeding is longer than normal cattle. In the US, the term is usually 15~18 months. However, in the case of Wagyu in Japan, the term is usually more than 28 months! This difference makes Wagyu beef expensive.
Third, some kinds of Wagyu such as Kobe Beef and Matsusaka Beef have already been established as a brand.
Because of these factors, authentic Wagyu beef is much more expensive than others.
What does "A5 Beef" mean?
In Japan, all of beef is ranked by two grades below.- Yield grade This grade shows the percentage of meat in a certain body of cattle. "A" is the best and "C" is the worst.
- Meat quality grade This grade shows the quality of meat. The grade depends on the degree of marbling, gloss, and fineness of texture of meat, in addition to the degree of color and quality of fat. "5" is the best and "1" is the worst.