Palatability

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Why So Delicious?

There is Always a Reason for Things

A term “palatable” is a synonymous with “tasty”, “delicious” and “savory”. Palatability is a pleasure provided by foods or fluids that are agreeable to the “palate” When it comes to beef, palatability is a function of flavor, savory taste, tenderness and juiciness. Kobe beef is heavily deposited with inosinic acid that is widely used in various foods as flavor enhancer. Also inosinic acid forms amino acid glutamate that is the purest taste of savory taste or Umami.

Tajima gyu cattle, whose top quality carcass is called Kobe beef, is genetically predisposed to intense fat marbling called shimofuri that literally means “frost”. It is this shimofuri fat that gives tenderness and juiciness. Compared to the foreign cattle breeds, shimofuri fat of Tajima gyu cattle contains larger amount of oleic acid that is considered to give sweet taste. With a melting point of 13 to 14°C, oleic acid features buttery and smooth texture. On top of it, a higher ratio of “healthy” monounsaturated fat in shimofuri lowers blood cholesterol levels and lessens the risk of cardiovascular disease.

There are reasons for deliciousness

  • Inosinic acid enhances flavor and savory taste
  • Shimofuri fat marbling renders tenderness and juiciness
  • Oleic acid adds sweetness and gives melt-in-your-mouth texture
  • Monounsaturated “healthy” fat lowers blood cholesterol levels and reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease
Middle East Fuji – Kobe Beef

Kobe beef is now gaining awareness and recognition in the Middle East region.

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Our Faq

Frequently Asked Questions

Kobe beef refers to meat from Tajima-gyu cows certified by the Kobe Beef Distribution & Promotion Council. Tajima-gyu cows, the “motoushi” or purebred seedstock cattle, have maintained a pure bloodline since the Edo period (1615 to 1867) to the present day. Protecting this lineage has also meant protecting its delicious taste, and this contributes to the high cost of producing this delicacy. Although Kobe beef delights the palates of people around the world, it accounts for a mere 0.16% of total beef consumption in Japan. This scarcity is another factor contributing to its high price.

This is due to the many foreigners who first came and settled in Kobe from the Meiji period (1868 to 1912) onwards after Kobe became the first port to be opened to foreign trade on January 1, 1869. From then on, word of its deliciousness soon spread fast.

Kobe Beef started to be exported to Macao for the first time in February, 2012.

“Sashi” refers to the fatty content of the scarlet-colored muscle fiber. “Sashi” is classified into two types, coarse “sashi” and fine “sashi.” “Shimofuri” refers to the cut of fine texture meat having a high degree of fat marbling. A feature of Tajima-gyu cows is that they possess both fine muscle fiber and a high degree of fat marbling.

Breeding farms rear mother cows to give birth to calves, while feeding farms raise and care for these calves so that their body mass increases and meat quality improves. Both types of farms require specialist skills and knowledge, and some farms, of course, take on both roles.

As well as dried pasture forage and grasses such as rice straw, they are fed a diet of nutrition-rich feed supplements made by blending together soybean, corn, barley, wheat bran, and various other ingredients. They are given no pasture grass at all to eat. Water, too, is very important besides feed. This is the reason why there are many cattle-rearing farms in areas with good, clean water.