WAGYU-THE JAPANESE ANSWER TO CAVIAR

Caviar, the eggs of the beluga sturgeon fish from the Caspian sea, is considered as one of the most expensive food along with truffles. At around 1400$, or 56,000 rs, per kilogram it is a food that very few people can afford. Commanding such astronomical prices puts it in the category of novelty or luxury foods. The Japanese can also lay claim to having an entrant in this high price and high demand class of food. Their answer to the caviar- Wagyu or Kobe beef.

The Wagyu cattle were first reared in special farms in Japan but due to their popularity they are now reared in specific places all over the world. One might be led to think that if it's such an expensive meat why not rear it everywhere. However, matters are not so simple or clearcut. For one the wagyu cattle need a very large area to pasture on. Secondly the climate and weather conditions also affect the quality of the beef. Thirdly the process involved in raising the cattle is both grueling and intensive. Picture this- the cattle are fed with beer and sake and given a massage with sake or japanese beer every single day! Each one of those cattle gets a massage everyday, that's one too many than I get! :-) Makes a person feel quite devalued LOL.The methods that are used to breed these cattle are also knowledge intensive and accumulated through generations of experience, so needless to say it's not everyone's fare. Despite being reared all over the world the Japanese Kobe is most prized.

Now for the price! A single Wagyu cattle was sold for a record 250,000 $! That's around 1 crore rupees! enough to buy a Lamborghini Gallardo or build a nice home! And remember these are not meant for racing; they are simply food... Not every cattle is sold for so much though, but still the average price of a Wagyu cattle is around 10 to 20 thousand dollars which still works out to around 6 lac rupees. To give you a better idea they are selling burgers with Wagyu beef in the US that cost 40$ or 1600 rupees, enough to feed a person for a month in Asia!

Now even though I like my beef quite a bit, I can neither afford to buy Wagyu nor am I so inclined. I'd rather get myself a porsche 911 instead if I had the money to spend 250,000$ on an animal! However if I have a chance to try some I'll let you know how it went, but needless to say it must be quite the gastronomic experience!