I've been lucky to have a lot of fantastic culinary adventures in my career and foremost among them is my trip to the Meat Grading and Auction House in Tokyo, where I saw firsthand the wagyu grading and auction process. It was an incredibly educational — and delicious — day.
The import of all Japanese beef in America was banned in 2009 because of concerns of foot and mouth disease. You have probably seen the word "wagyu" on menus since then, because wagyu can also come from Australia as well as the U.S. Fortunately, this August, beef from Japan got the all clear from the USDA, and we've been able to get some real wagyu into the States in limited quantities.
The first thing to know about wagyu is that not all wagyu is Kobe, but all Kobe is wagyu. Are you still with me? The literal meaning of wagyu is Japanese cow, but when people refer to wagyu they're more often than not talking about four historically Japanese breeds that are generally considered to be the best quality. Kobe is the beef that comes from a breed of wagyu cattle known as Tajima raised in Japan's Hyogo Prefecture. The capital of Hyogo is Kobe, which is where the name of beef originates. Kobe can only come from the Tajima breed and is raised according to very strict traditions.
To read the rest of the story, please go to: Huffington Post