The high cost of high-quality Japanese beef

The best beef in the world comes with a hefty price tag. A Kobe steak can run up to $500 at a Japanese eatery and that's just for the steak. Is the meat worth the high cost?

Japanese farmers revere their Wagyu, the name for cattle. Wagyu is the type of cow that Kobe meat comes from. Part of the desire for Kobe beef comes from the marbling. With the amount of marbling, which is fat, in Kobe beef it is sad to "melt in your mouth." The fat in beef from Japan is mostly mono-unsaturated, the fat that is known to lower bad cholesterol. That mono-unsaturated fat is achieved by the feed which farmers give their cattle. In Japan farmers closely guard their feed recipes, handing the blends down from one generation to the next. The farmers are also very keen on the type of water and mineral in that water that they feed their cattle. Some farmers are also known to give their cattle beer and saki to help their appetites when the climate is warm. Instead of keeping their cattle in stalls the farmers let them out to play. This helps to insure their beef is not overly fatty.