和牛好吃的秘訣：喂牛吃巧克力

They say chocolate makes everything better, and apparently premium wagyu beef is no exception. For the past 10 years, the Mayura Station Farm in southern Australia has been feeding its full-blood wagyu cattle chocolate and other sweets mixed with their regular feed, and the results have been spectacular.

有人說(shuō)巧克力會(huì)讓一切變得更好，顯然價(jià)格昂貴的和牛也不例外。過(guò)去十年來(lái)，位于澳大利亞南部的Mayura Station農(nóng)場(chǎng)一直在給其純種和牛的飼料中添加巧克力和其它甜點(diǎn)，其結(jié)果也非常令人驚嘆。

When Scott de Bruin, managing partner at Mayura Station, returned to his father's farm in the Limestone coast of Australia, in 1998, he knew he wanted to do something special to make their beef stand out from that of other luxury cattle farms around the world. But he didn't know exactly how he was going to do that, so he consulted a cattle nutrition specialist from Japan and spent two years experimenting with different feed before deciding on the final daily ration for his wagyu cows – a special mix of regular feed, chocolate, gummy bears, strawberries and cream flavored gummy snakes. Each cow eats up to 2 kilograms of ground and partially broken chocolate delivered by Cadbury's every day.

當(dāng)Mayura Station的合伙人Scott de Bruin在1998年回到他父親那個(gè)位于澳大利亞石灰?guī)r海岸的農(nóng)場(chǎng)時(shí)，他就決定讓其農(nóng)場(chǎng)里的牛肉成為最好的奢侈牛肉。但他不知道該怎么做，于是他咨詢了日本的牲畜營(yíng)養(yǎng)專家，并花了兩年時(shí)間調(diào)配其和牛日常飲食的飼料(混合了常規(guī)飼料、巧克力、小熊軟糖、草莓和奶油味的蛇軟糖)比例。每頭牛一天會(huì)吃下兩公斤飼料，此外還有一些吉百利巧克力的碎粒。

Adding chocolate to the daily diet of cows at Mayura Station started out as a simple experiment, but it ended up making their luxury beef one of the most appreciated in the world. “Many of my customers come to enjoy Mayura beef two to three times a week. They love how the beef has the perfect balance of fat, rich flavor and tender texture,” Michelin star chef Umberto Bombana told Forbes Magazine.

原本喂牛吃巧克力只是一個(gè)簡(jiǎn)單的實(shí)驗(yàn)，但這一舉動(dòng)卻讓Scott的牛肉變成最美味的昂貴牛肉之一。米其林星級(jí)大廚Umberto Bombana告訴《福布斯》雜志說(shuō)：“我的許多顧客一周會(huì)來(lái)吃兩到三次Mayura牛肉。他們喜歡牛肉完美的脂肪比例，醇厚的口感和柔嫩的質(zhì)地。”

Shane Osborn, Head Chef and Co-Owner of Arcane Restaurant in Hong Kong, added that its unique sweetness, hint of nuttiness and buttery texture make Mayura beef “the ultimate steak”.

香港Arcane餐廳的共有人和主廚Shane Osborn則補(bǔ)充說(shuō)Mayura牛肉的獨(dú)特甜味、淡淡的堅(jiān)果味和奶油一般的口感讓Mayura牛肉成為“頂級(jí)的牛肉”。

Although he first started feeding his cattle chocolate in 2006, Scott de Bruin claims that he only realized how important it was to the quality of the meat in 2010, when he decided to take it out of the animals' diet to make the meat pinker and more marbled. Two months later, clients started phoning in and asking 'What have you done? Your Wagyu doesn't taste like it used to anymore'. So de Bruin immediately reverted to including chocolates again.

雖然Scott從2006年就開(kāi)始給牛喂巧克力，但他直到2010年才真正意識(shí)到巧克力對(duì)牛肉質(zhì)量的影響。2010年為了讓牛肉顏色粉紅，有大理石花紋，他決定不再給牛喂巧克力。兩個(gè)月后，老顧客們紛紛打電話來(lái)問(wèn)為何牛肉沒(méi)有以前好吃。于是他決定立即恢復(fù)對(duì)牛的巧克力供應(yīng)。

De Bruin says he begins feeding calves chocolate when they are 30 months old, but only a bit of it, with the ration increasing the closer they get to the slaughterhouse. “The last two rations are about producing as much marbling as we possibly can, so that's why they consume such a high-calorie ration,” he said.

Scott說(shuō)他會(huì)在牛30個(gè)月大的時(shí)候給它們喂巧克力，一開(kāi)始只喂一點(diǎn)點(diǎn)，之后慢慢增加直到牛被送入屠宰場(chǎng)為止。他說(shuō)：“最后兩天的配給是想讓牛盡量長(zhǎng)出大理石紋路一樣的脂肪，因此牛的飲食中卡路里含量較高。”

Asked if the milk chocolate has a negative effect on the cattle's health, Scott de Bruin says “No, unlike humans – who may start eating chocolates at a very young age for over several decades – these cattle (raised on chocolates for only four months) won't see the long-term negative effects of chocolates in their system.”

在被問(wèn)及牛奶巧克力是否會(huì)給牛的健康帶來(lái)負(fù)面影響時(shí)，Scott否認(rèn)說(shuō)：“與人類吃幾十年巧克力不同的是，這些牛吃巧克力的時(shí)間只有四個(gè)月，我們也不會(huì)看到巧克力給其身體帶來(lái)的長(zhǎng)期負(fù)面影響。

“People ask me about the ethics of feeding chocolate to cows. But they're not on a long timeline here, they are going to go to baby cow heaven soon, but this way they are happier and taste better,” the Mayura Station manager said. “All I can say is that in those last four months, they are really, really happy cows.”

“人們會(huì)質(zhì)疑我給牛喂巧克力的道德問(wèn)題，但牛不會(huì)活很久，它們會(huì)很快去小牛的天堂，這樣喂它們能讓它們更快樂(lè)口感更好。我只能說(shuō)，它們生命的最后四個(gè)月過(guò)得非常非?？鞓?lè)。”

As you can imagine, Mayura luxury beef is not cheap. Forbes reports that a 10.5oz-steak sells for $288, but those who can afford it claim it's worth every penny.

你也可以想象得到，Mayura牛肉并不便宜?！陡２妓埂穲?bào)道說(shuō)0.3公斤重的牛肉售價(jià)288美元，買得起的人都說(shuō)物有所值。

Interestingly, feeding cattle chocolate and other sweets is not unheard of. In 2012, a surge in corn prices forced farmers to feed their cows chocolate, gummy sweets and marshmallows, since their four stomachs help them digest pretty much anything, but Mayura Station is the only one using the unusual feed to enhance the flavor of the beef.

有趣的是，給牛喂巧克力和其它甜食并不是什么稀奇的事情。2012年，玉米價(jià)格飆升迫使農(nóng)民們給牛喂巧克力、奶油甜點(diǎn)和棉花糖，但Mayura Station是唯一一家用這種不同尋常的方法來(lái)改善牛肉口感的農(nóng)場(chǎng)。