And beef grading is different in Japan and Australia.

Gourmets who love beef know that when traveling to Japan, they must taste the local Japanese and beef. Their food makes people sigh that "this thing is only available in the sky and rare on earth", and they all say that they can't go back once they eat it! In addition to paying great attention to the feeding and nursing of cattle, the Japanese have raised fat and tender beef, and also have strict meat quality grading. If you don't want to spend a lot of money, you should know something about Japan and cattle first.

Know Japanese and cattle

Japanese beef cattle is a kind of beef cattle bred and improved by Japan and European and American countries from Meiji era. * * * is divided into four different breeds: black hair and Japanese black and brown hair, Japanese brown, Japanese short horn and Japanese Boer. Japanese cattle are the general names of these four breeds, among which black hair and cattle are the main ones (accounting for 90%).

Japanese black hair and cattle

Because of its unique pedigree and the Japanese people's great attention to the way of raising cattle, the buttercup flowers cultivated are dense and evenly distributed, with unique flavor and texture, which is better than other varieties of beef in the world, making He Niu the king of beef. However, in recent years, there have also been artificially raised "He Niu" in Australia and the United States, whose flavor and meat quality are slightly inferior to those of Japanese and cattle. Therefore, when eating in a restaurant, we must pay attention to whether the "He Niu" on the menu is beef from Japan.

And cattle are famous for their exquisite oil flowers.

Grade evaluation of cattle

JMGA, the Japanese Meat Association, rated the "lean meat" of the slaughtered cattle as A5 ~ C 1 * * * 15. From the score, we can see two indicators from English letters and numbers respectively.

Among Japanese cattle 15 grades, A3 ~ A4 grades are common, and A5 grade is the highest.

Yield grade

Represented by letters a ~ C, also called yield grade, the "percentage of meat" that can be taken out of a specific part is calculated by a set of specific formulas, and then the thickness of meat and subcutaneous fat are calculated. A is good (above 72%), B is general standard (69-72%), and C is poor (below 69%). The higher the grade, the more complete the meat is.

Meat quality grade

Represented by the number 1 ~ 5, it was identified from four aspects: oil flower proportion and texture distribution, meat color, muscle texture and compactness, fat quality and color. The four items will get 1 ~ 5 points, and the higher the number, the better the quality. The last score was the lowest. For example, a grade A meat, if the first three items are all 5 (excellent) and the last item is 3 (standard), then this meat can only get the grade of A3, and the standard can be said to be quite strict.

1. Oil flower proportion and texture distribution: In addition to letters and numbers, you may also see the 10 grade mark on the menu, which divides the oil flower distribution density in beef into 12 according to the standards of beef fat hybridization (BMS), and corresponds to 1 ~ 5 grades.

Comparison table of meat quality grade corresponding to BMS.

BMS Oil Flower Grading Table (Photo: Japan Meat Association)

The Japanese use "first frost" to describe dense oil flowers, and BMS mainly classifies them according to the lines of the first frost.

So although they are all A5 beef, there will still be a difference between No.8 and 12 (the Japanese are so careful! )。 However, 12 Harmony Cattle is quite rare even in Japan, and the sky-high price may be several hundred thousand yen! So, don't be greedy and cheap, buy those cows that claim to be of high quality but are unexpectedly cheap.

2. Meat color judgment: According to BCS, it is divided into seven spectral grades, among which No.3 ~ No.5 is the best.

3. Fat quality and color: According to BFS, it is also divided into 7 grades, 1 ~ 4 is the best, and the color of ivory fat is the best, and the worse it is in Huang Yue.

4. Muscle compactness: the score of meat quality from coarse to tender is 1 ~ 5, but even the most tender grade 5 meat will have different tastes due to different parts! If you want to eat the most tender beef, it is recommended to choose the part with less exercise.

Look at the brand except the grade.

Generally, in restaurants, most of them will see A3 ~ A4 grade beef, and top beef shops will also sell the highest grade A5 with the highest price. If you are greedy and want to eat some steak, A3 is actually enough. You can try A4 when you get together with friends occasionally. As for A5…… ................... You can tighten your belt first, and then choose an auspicious day (such as salary increase day) to splurge.

In addition to the above classification, you must have heard of the famous brand beef (さんだぃわぎゅぅ) called "Big Three": Matsuzaka beef, Kobe beef, Mize beef (or Jinjiang beef, the third place is. Take Kobe cattle as an example. In addition to the standards of feeding methods, breeds and places of origin, Kobe cattle must reach A4 ~ A5, while BMS must exceed Grade 6. Even the oily flowers on raw meat can be melted by mouth, which can only be described as polarization at the entrance, which also contributes to its extraordinary value.

Cattle by the river in Shiga county.

After the top three, there are Sendai Cattle in Miyagi, Feiqing Cattle in Gifu, Xinzhou Cattle in Nagano and Ishigaki Cattle in Okinawa, all of which are well-known brands in various regions. Wild cattle are a good choice for you to taste and taste. However, even if the three cows are rated the same as other cows, the price and meat quality will be much higher! Simply put, the A4 level of the three major cattle will be better than that of Feiqing and Sendai cattle, and the A4 level of Feiqing and Sendai cattle will be better than that of ordinary cattle ... and so on; Next time you want to taste beef, be sure to pay attention to the label on the menu when ordering, so as not to make a mistake.

The fat of Grade A5 Pegasus will melt at room temperature.

Introduction to Australian and Cattle Grades

Australian beef is classified into M 1 ~ M9 grades according to MSA(Meat Standards Australia) standards formulated by MLA organization, with considerable emphasis on the distribution ratio of marble. There are two numerical indexes to determine the oil flower grade: AUS-MEAT and MSA, and AUS-MEAT is 65438 from low to high.

Grade comparison between MSA and AUS-MEAT.

Next time you go to a restaurant to enjoy Australia and cattle, you will know who is more advanced when you see the 500 and 5 levels on the menu, right? It's not good to have more! However, due to the introduction and breeding of cattle in Japan, "Australian and Cattle" was bred through artificial breeding, so it was far more delicious than M9. Some restaurants would write M9+ on the menu, so private manufacturers added M 10 ~ M 12.

The highest grade of M 12 of Australian and Japanese cattle is close to A5 grade of Japanese and Japanese cattle, while most restaurants in the market sell M9 and M 10 grade (close to A3 grade of Japanese and Japanese cattle), and the price is about twice that of American cattle USDA Prime grade. However, Australia and cattle are graded in a slightly different way from Japan (you can also see how picky the Japanese are about grading). Even if the ratings are the same, there are still gourmets who think Japanese cattle are much better than Australian cattle.

Introduction of America and Cattle

American black cattle are usually called American Kobe beef or American Kobe in English. It was also 199 1 introduced from Japan and bred by Japanese breeders after artificial mating. Although the tenderness of meat is slightly lower than that of Japan, Australia and cattle, its flavor is unique and its quality is better than that of American cattle rated by USDA. Because of the low price, most black cattle in hot pot or butcher shop refer to American black cattle.

The American Cattle Club will be marked with American beef and American Kobe beef.

American black cattle are divided into three grades: silver, black and gold. Generally speaking, the marbling grade of gold of extremely black and cattle is almost the same as M9 ~ M 10 of Australian and cattle (about A3 of Japanese and cattle). Black is the level of M6 ~ M8 of Australian and cattle (roughly equivalent to A2 of Australian and cattle).

Comparison table of beef grades in different countries

After learning about Japan, Australia, the United States and cattle, let's take a look at how to compare the three grades, plus the USDA grade of the most common American cattle on the market for your reference!

Comparison table of grades of American beef, American black beef, Australian beef and Japanese beef.