Friday, February 24, 2012

Wagyu

Are you familiar with Peter Gordon's The Week Crossword? It's a weekly puzzle designed for news junkies. Many of the puzzle answers are items that were in the news just a few days ago. This week's puzzle, for example, has WHITNEY HOUSTON, MALACHY (Pekingese who won the 2012 Westminster Kennel Club dog show), ONCE UPON A SECRET, which was clued: 2012 Mimi Alford book subtitled My Affair With President John F Kennedy and Its Aftermath, STEPHEN BREYER (Supreme Court justice who was recently robbed at machete-point), and BRINGING UP BEBE (2012 Pamela Druckerman book subtitled One American Mother Discovers the Wisdom of French Parenting).

The clue in the puzzle that baffled me hasn't actually been in the news recently, as far as I know: Expensive beef. The answer: WAGYU. I don't think people in small towns of northern Minnesota have much exposure to it. I've never heard of it. Maybe I need to start watching food shows on television... 

If there's anyone out there as ignorant as me, wagyu  refers to several breeds of cattle genetically predisposed to intense marbling. The meat from wagyu cattle is known worldwide for its marbling characteristics, increased eating quality through a naturally enhanced flavor, tenderness and juiciness, and a high market value. In several areas of Japan, beef is shipped with area names. Some examples are Kobe, Mishima, Matsusaka, Ōmi, and Sanda beef. Highly prized for their rich flavor, these cattle produce arguably the finest beef in the world.

In the following video Stephen Alexander gives us an introduction to Cumbraes Pure Breed Wagyu:

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