Kobe: El Gran Viaje Gastronómico

KOBE
The Great Gourmet Journey

By Rita Martínez

Kobe - short and strong - is the name with which the meat from the Wagyu, one of the most appreciated on the planet, has become popular in recent years.

And the fact is, while it is named as the best meat in the world, it is often done so without knowing anything about this extraordinary and undoubtedly unique breed.

Surrounded byendless myths and inaccuracies, such as the inaccurate facts that this particular livestock is massaged with sake in order to produce its flavor, that it is fed with beer several times a day, or that it is brought in five-star spas, this subject has been treated with superficiality, leaving aside the essence of the “why” it is, truly, a meat like no other.

The Wagyu cattle is originally from Japan.Nestled in Hyogo, on the island of Honshu, we find Kobe, the capital city of one of the Japanese regions where this type of meat is produced. This singular livestock was raised in such area for the first time. There is, therefore, no better or more exact term to name it. The WA prefix indicates that it is from or related with Japan: “wakame” is the Japanese seaweed, “wasabi” is Japanese turnip,and “Wagyu” is the word used for the Japanese beef. While Wagyu refers to the Japanese cattle or breed, the kobe is not a breed, but the name of the meat or final product of the Wagyu. A different name is given to the final product in each region. Thus, Kobe corresponds to that one.

We can also find the Miyazaki, the Ohmi and many others.

It was an imperial decree that the best bull in theregion had to be selected, and this specific bull would be bred with all the cows.

Origins. Wagyu could be traced back to the 5th century, when Asian livestock was introduced to Japan and was gradually mixed with the native cattle, giving way to the new breed. There were two noteworthy factors in such activity:
* The first was a random or even pure luck factor, since the selection process wasoriginally based on choosing those specimens whose strength for pulling rice paddies proved to be outstanding. This cattle arose, then, not to provide gourmet pleasure, but as a simple selection of the breed most suitable to work with along the endless fields of rice. The physical stamina was crucial to carry out this task, and this in turn was facilitated through a greater reservoir ofintramuscular fat which provided this precious livestock (usually black or dark skinned) with a source of energy ready to use at all times.
* The second, less obvious but equally interesting, is the fact that in Japan, the countryside and the decisions were governed by imperial decrees which were met with rigidity and accuracy. It was an imperial decree that the best bull in the region had to beselected, and this specific bull would be bred with all the cows. This criterion was not subject to exception or the discretion of the farmers.

It was after World War II (and the prevailing food shortages) that the cattle was used for human consumption. The selection made out of this cattle, ideal to withstand long hours of work, was also a delicious meat selection, given its contents andintramuscular fat which generate the famous marbling of the meat. The three main features that now distinguish the Wagyu are tenderness, juiciness and flavor (the first being the main factor of satisfaction amongst consumers).

Historically Japan, an eminently traditionalist country, embraced the Shinto Buddhism as a religion. The consumption of meat from large animals (in a not-so-accurate way, any animalbigger than a duck) was not approved. For religious reasons, consumption of red meat was marginal, and it was for many years that the samurai warriors constituted the only exception to this rule. They were allowed to eat meat from larger animals because it would allow them to have better performance and strength in their deeds. However, the meat but could not be consumed inside the House. It is...