FOOD!

[MoFiya]

Is anybody of SZ familiar with / a member of Slow Food?
To briefly summarize, Slow Food is an institution sensitizing the use of seasonal and locally produced food. They also support the manufacture of specific products that do not match the criteria for a mass product (e.g. too small harvest, too complex production, ...).

I myself am a member although I do not 100% support everything they do - some things are a tad too idealistic / not realizable on a broader perspective. But then again it's as with politics - some people are members of a party and yet do have their own oppinions on certain topics. And regarding the general objectives, I certainly do stand behind the statements of Slow Food.

During the past few days, there was a big fair of Slow Food Germany (also with producers from the EU). I've been there for the 4th time or so, also as a helper... As always, I enjoyed talking to manufacturer and getting more insight on their products. Also, my wallet is empty and I have a shitload of tasty stuff waiting to be eaten

[theetruscan]

I've never been a member of Slow Food, but when I last had a free time in Italy (sigh, 8 years ago), I used the snail as my guide for restaurants whenever I was in a new town. Worked out very well for me. It has been fun to watch it spread, and I respect what they're doing. I don't know enough to be up to speed on all the details.

[theetruscan]

The Publican and Avec are spots I hit nearly every visit.

I've been on the fence with Sepia, Bonsoiree, Schwa (if they ever call back, as per usual), and L20.

[Raw]

Originally Posted by lowrey

^ sweet, can't wait til barbeque weather...

an ongoing attempt to perfect the burger - this time with ground beef purchased from a farm close by, on home made brioche buns:

Speaking of burgers, I tried this last week, voted Australia's best burger for 2011.
"Umami Burger – 200g Wagyu and Angus beef cooked to medium rare, Umami rub, brown mushroom sauce, gruyere, caramelised onions, oven roasted tomato and a parmesan crisp between a sweet brioche bun."

From the review:
When everyone is jamming Wagyu into their burgers as a fancy wallet emptying tactic, he stops and reconsiders, telling us that a “100% Wagyu pattie has no place in a burger. You end up losing a lot of beefy flavours”. By mixing his Wagyu with Angus Beef he is able to achieve the best of both worlds – the fatty softness of the Wagyu whilst delivering the beefy kick of the Angus.

Full details here:
http://theburgeradventure.com/2012/0...the-year-2011/

[poopbong]

God, i have to try wagyu one day damnit.

Cant find any locally unfortunately :/

[lowrey]

Originally Posted by Raw

Speaking of burgers, I tried this last week, voted Australia's best burger for 2011.

looks good. One of my favourite burgers has been at Comme Ça in LA, simple but very good. Another awesome one, though not a regular burger per se, was the pork belly burger/sandwich at Animal in LA. I've tried replicating it once and came nowhere close.

[theetruscan]

My source for burger meat:

http://www.bryansfinefoods.com/burgerBuilder.php

[Faust]

Damn, just cooked myself a vegetarian meal and now y'all making me jealous...

[Ahimsa]

^ All the cool kids cook vegetarian.

Cherry Blossom tea, chocolate cake with raspberry sauce and chocolate drizzle.

[Faust]

Lowery is pretty cool ;)

[nahneun]

What is everyone's obsession with American/Australian/whatever wagyu? The "wagyu" that's served outside of Japan isn't even true wagyu most of the time; it's often a mix of imported Japanese cattle (which may not even be that high grade) and some domestic cattle. There's no reasonable justification to believe that it is somehow better than a really nice, prime cut of domestic beef. It's like when restaurants say they serve Kobe beef...except they can't... Kobe beef hasn't been legally imported into the US since a few years ago.

tl;dr: if you want wagyu, go get it in japan or it just won't be real wagyu

[theetruscan]

To mirror your form:
-------------------------
The wagyu served outside japan is not a mixture of imported japanese cattle, and domestic cattle. Nor is there a grading issue as you state. Much of the Japanese Wagyu available now is raised, on contract, on ranchland in the US and Australia, and shipped back to Japan for slaughter. These farms also raise, slaughter and sell some of this meat domestically. Wagyu (just means Cow) consist of a few specific breeds, distinct from American and other breeds of cattle. If you care, you can look into reports by US schools with strong ag programs, that have examined the breeds, the methods of raising the cows, and marbling characteristics. There are crossbreeds of Wagyu breeds with Angus, sold under other names (American Kobe) as well as possibly the name Wagyu. Both the purebreed and the crossbreeds are available worldwide.

tl;dr: Your claims are hopelessly inaccurate. Do your homework.

[nahneun]

that's impossible. japan requires that imported beef be slaughtered before 20 months. american "wagyu" is slaughtered after 30. this is a relatively recently adopted regulation after the mad cow scare. and wagyu specifically refers to japanese cow (和牛 <- the second character is the one for cow/beef), not just cow in general...

after doing some research, it seems there are some fullbred wagyu in Australia and America, but they're still not eligible to be called Kobe beef. American Kobe is such a deceptive and misleading name. and the vast majority of wagyu in America is NOT 100% wagyu. If they say it is American wagyu, it is most definitely a crossbreed (and they will still claim it is 100% wagyu...just not 100% of the wagyu most people are expecting). Nomenclature is not heavily enforced in the food industry.

[theetruscan]

Originally Posted by nahneun

that's impossible. japan requires that imported beef be slaughtered before 20 months. american "wagyu" is slaughtered after 30. this is a relatively recently adopted regulation after the mad cow scare. and wagyu specifically refers to japanese cow (和牛 <- the second character is the one for cow/beef), not just cow in general...

The change in slaughter requirement may have changed things, but as recently as two years ago, a fair bit of Japanese Wagyu was raised by Harris Ranch in California**. I would imagine that it is just shipped back in time to be slaughtered there, whereas the stuff kept here is aged longer, but I don't have great insight, it's a bit of a underpublicized system.

A fair bit of purebred Wagyu* is available in the US, though I think you tend to need to do a bit of homework, rather than do price-comparison to find something not crossbred with Angus.

American Kobe is definitely a sketchy name. This discussion was about American Wagyu, not American Kobe though.

* Purebred wagyu is an odd concept since wagyu is a catchall for breeds of japanese cattle.

** I can't find my source for this anymore.

[nahneun]

yeah, i meant that it was purely bred from cows of japanese origin. but a lot of restaurants that serve "100% wagyu" are actually serving wagyu x black angus, which they sell as 100% American wagyu because of lax regulation laws. I think the law only requires that the cattle has some sort of skimpy traceable lineage, or whatnot. Don't remember exactly, but it was enough to raise a few eyebrows.

[theetruscan]

Agreed. But, both are readily available outside of Japan. So, your initial claim that "The "wagyu" that's served outside of Japan isn't true wagyu; it's always a mix" was simply false.

[nahneun]

duly noted and amended.

oh, and in regards to the law saying america cannot export wagyu to Japan:

Abstract from USDA Foreign Agriculture Service GAIN Report in 2006:

Report Highlights: Japan is developing a labeling system for beef from Wagyu, a traditional Japanese breed, that is designed to stop imports. Under the proposal, beef labeled 'Wagyu' must be born and raised in Japan. About a third of the cattle produced in Japan are Wagyu, which is known for its heavily marbled meat. This action is being taken, as one official put it, to 'prevent misunderstandings among consumers about the quality and origin of the meat.' However, Japanese law already requires that meat be clearly labeled with its country of origin. The United States does not currently export Wagyu beef to Japan because of other trade restrictions, namely Japan's requirement that U.S. beef be from cattle that are 20 months or under (Wagyu cattle are usually slaughtered at 30 - 35 months). Japan is using a 'voluntary industry guideline' as a legal front that could, if violated, be enforced under certain Japanese laws. This regulatory approach is being taken to make it difficult for the United States and other Wagyu producers, mainly Australia, to protest the action. The ‘guideline’ is subject to one more level of review by Japan's Fair Trade Commission (FTC) and could be amended. The Wagyu labeling initiative is a troubling precedent that shows Japan is willing to move beyond tariff and phytosanitary barriers to restrict agricultural trade.

after reading the report, it says that the use of the term "wagyu" should only refer to Japanese-born and raised cattle, but this is a voluntary system at present.

[theetruscan]

Huh,

My recollection was that there had been a system where the beef was born in japan, shipped to the US, returned to Japan for slaughter. This was described as more cost-effective than keeping it on land in japan uninterrupted due to the relative cost of land in Japan and the US.

Nothing in the USDA report/trade restrictions actually prevents this, but I don't know whether it was done (i.e. they can ship cows over for 18 months or whatever, to save money). However, since I can't find my source, I'm probably just wrong.

[Patroklus]

[volta]

http://www.forbes.com/sites/larryolm...kobe-beef-lie/