Topic · Meat & Poultry
Beef Grading & Aging
Grass-Fed Beef
Beef from cattle raised on pasture and forage rather than finished on grain. Leaner, with a more mineral, sometimes gamey flavour and yellower fat.
Grain-Fed Beef
Beef from cattle finished on a grain-based diet for the last months, giving more marbling, whiter fat and a milder, buttery flavour. Most North American beef is grain-finished.
Dry-Aged Beef
Beef hung or racked uncovered in a controlled cold room (about 1–3°C, 75–85% humidity, constant airflow) for usually 21–60 days. It loses moisture, concentrating flavour, while enzymes tenderise it, developing nutty, blue-cheese-like notes. The dried crust is trimmed off.
Wet-Aged Beef
Beef aged in its vacuum bag under refrigeration for 2–4 weeks. Enzymes tenderise it without moisture loss; flavour stays milder than dry-aged.
Kobe Beef
A protected name for Tajima-strain Japanese Black Wagyu raised and processed in Hyogo prefecture, Japan, meeting strict marbling standards. Genuine Kobe is rare and certified with a numbered stamp.