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Kobe beef is beef from a Wagyu cow. It is renowned for its flavor, tenderness, and fatty well-marbled texture. These qualities are a result of their excellent genetic characterisics. Cows of the same breed are raised this way in Japan, Idaho, Texas, California, Virginia, and Australia, but can only be called Kobe beef if slaughtered in Kobe, Japan.
Kobe Beef cattle are massaged with sake and fed beer, a process that is believed to increase the quality of the meat, however, this most likely has little to do with the quality of the beef. Cattle in Japan have little room to exercise and this can cause soreness in their muscles which reduces their appetite. The massaging helps to reduce the soreness. The yeast in the beer likewise increases the appetite of the cow. The Japanese want the cows to be happy and relaxed.
The Kobe industry does little to deny these stories because it adds to the mystique of the product.
Because true Kobe beef is not exported from Japan, "Kobe style" beef is produced from a crossbreed of Wagyu and American Angus cattle raised and slaughtered in the U.S.
Kobe beef must be ranked as Grade A or B with fat BMS number 6 and over by the Japanese Association of Meat Ranking. It is said that only 3,000-4,000 Kobe Beef Cattle are available each year in Japan. Kobe Beef costs over $100 per pound in Japan.
Kobe beef can be prepared as steak, sukiyaki, shabu shabu, sashimi, teppanyaki, and more.
Kobe Bryant, an all-star National Basketball Association player on the roster of the Los Angeles Lakers, was named by his father, Joe "Jellybean" Bryant, after the famous Kobe steak.
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