America's insatiable appetite for beef steak is giving way to a number of new products and methodologies, lending new meaning to the term "cash cow."
Grass fed. Dry aged. Kobe vs. Wagyu.
From its base in Santa Rosa, Calif., the Artisan Beef Institute is attempting to do for steak what Starbucks did for coffee, creating cachet and demand for a seemingly one-note commodity by playing up beef's nuanced flavors — much like fine wine — derived through breeding, growing region, diet, aging techniques and other characteristics.
Can you really detect the terroir in that seared porterhouse? Apparently you can, especially with the help of the beef institute's MeatCamp tasting courses available online or in person.
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