# dry vs wet ageing **URL:** \ **Category:** Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports\ **Created:** [August 20, 2005, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dry-vs-wet-ageing/317860 "2005-08-20T05:11:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Shalmanese](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shalmanese](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shalmanese)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2005, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dry-vs-wet-ageing/317860/1 "2005-08-20T05:11:03Z")
In [What’s the big deal about aged beef and Angus beef?](http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mangusbeef.html) **Una** makes the comment: > [@](#): > > Aging is typically done by the so-called dry method, where the beef is hung in a freezer for a prescribed time prior to cutting. I don’t know if your usage of typical is the same as mine but by far the most common method of ageing beef in the US is now wet ageing. Very little dry ageing is done due mainly to the expense and loss of yield. In fact, very little ageing full stop is done nowadays because people consistently have shown they prefer cheap meat to good meat. ---
**Author:** ![Una\_Persson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/una_persson/32/346_2.png) [@Una\_Persson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Una_Persson)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2005, 12:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dry-vs-wet-ageing/317860/2 "2005-08-20T12:18:14Z")
> [@Shalmanese](#): > > I don’t know if your usage of typical is the same as mine but by far the most common method of ageing beef in the US is now wet ageing. Depending on the application, yes, an awful lot of it is wet aged. When I did my research I was focusing on and finding that the higher grades and cuts of meat, meaning the Angus and Kobe beef the article was about, were generally dry aged, as cost was not the key driver in the aging choice. I was unable to find statistics that positively said that a majority of Angus beef was dry aged, but anecdotally speaking that was the case. ---
**Author:** ![Shalmanese](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shalmanese](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shalmanese)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2005, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dry-vs-wet-ageing/317860/3 "2005-08-20T14:01:55Z")
Ah yes, if you were specifically referring to Angus/Wagyu, then the percentages might be a bit different but it’s certainly not clear from your article that you were referring only to Angus ageing and not ageing in general. ---
**Author:** ![Una\_Persson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/una_persson/32/346_2.png) [@Una\_Persson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Una_Persson)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2005, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dry-vs-wet-ageing/317860/4 "2005-08-20T15:49:24Z")
I’m sorry. ---
**Author:** ![John\_W.Kennedy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_w.kennedy/32/1031_2.png) [@John\_W.Kennedy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_W.Kennedy)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2005, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dry-vs-wet-ageing/317860/5 "2005-08-20T16:32:12Z")
Back in 1964, I had a hamburger made from unaged beef in Puerto Rico. It tasted more or less like pork. ---
**Author:** ![C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b2d939/32.png) [@C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C_K_Dexter_Haven)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2005, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dry-vs-wet-ageing/317860/6 "2005-08-20T17:35:10Z")
**Una** , congrats on another fantastic report! ---
**Author:** ![Jeff\_the\_Yank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ee7513/32.png) [@Jeff\_the\_Yank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeff_the_Yank)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2005, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dry-vs-wet-ageing/317860/7 "2005-08-23T17:03:39Z")
So if we eat meat with lots of “myostatin” do we loose muscle mass and tend to add on more fat? - J ---
**Author:** ![Jake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f475e1/32.png) [@Jake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jake)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2005, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dry-vs-wet-ageing/317860/8 "2005-08-24T22:32:13Z")
Una, a well researched and documented report. I don’t understand the problem of the OP? ---
**Author:** ![Una\_Persson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/una_persson/32/346_2.png) [@Una\_Persson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Una_Persson)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2005, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dry-vs-wet-ageing/317860/9 "2005-08-25T01:36:02Z")
> [@Jeff the Yank](#): > > So if we eat meat with lots of “myostatin” do we loose muscle mass and tend to add on more fat? > > - J Um…hm. I don’t know… > [@Jake](#): > > Una, a well researched and documented report. I don’t understand the problem of the OP? Thanks! The OP here had a query about language in the report that could have been more clear, and I explained what I might have said better. ---
**Author:** ![Moirai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/96bed5/32.png) [@Moirai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moirai)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2005, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dry-vs-wet-ageing/317860/10 "2005-08-25T01:53:34Z")
Awesome report, Una, as usual! Had a Kobe burger not too long ago (probably a waste of good beef…) and it made me long for a Kobe steak! ---
**Author:** ![Shalmanese](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shalmanese](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shalmanese)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2005, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dry-vs-wet-ageing/317860/11 "2005-08-25T13:22:51Z")
Grr… It annoys me how the US industry have misappropriated the word Kobe. Kobe is a geographically protected designation, like Champagne or Parmegiano Reggiano. Products that do not come from the designated region are not allowed to be called that name. It’s almost certainly impossible that you could have had Kobe beef in the US. The US does not currently allow the import of Japanese beef (ironically) due to mad cow concerns [cite](http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/cac/pr2004/096.html). What you most likely had is Wagyu beef which describes the breed of the cow, not the region it was produced in. US producers have been rather blatantly flouting the law (or at least, international convention) by labelling their products as “Kobe style” beef or even just Kobe beef when it’s plainly not. ---
**Author:** ![Moirai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/96bed5/32.png) [@Moirai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moirai)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2005, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dry-vs-wet-ageing/317860/12 "2005-08-26T20:52:43Z")
Interesting. I did indeed consume my burger in the United States. I stand corrected on my Wagyu! But was my animal massaged like a “real” Kobe animal? 😉 I didn’t the Parmegiano Reggiano thing was ruled on yet. ---
**Author:** ![Moirai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/96bed5/32.png) [@Moirai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moirai)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2005, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dry-vs-wet-ageing/317860/13 "2005-08-26T20:54:46Z")
“Kobe style” shouldn’t be breaking the law (or international convention), should it? I mean, “Wagyu beef in the style or manner of similar beef of the same breed from the Kobe region of Japan” doesn’t fit on a lable very well! 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Big\_Whistle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Big\_Whistle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Big_Whistle)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2005, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dry-vs-wet-ageing/317860/14 "2005-08-26T22:11:06Z")
> [@EJsGirl](#): > > “Kobe style” shouldn’t be breaking the law (or international convention), should it? > > I mean, “Wagyu beef in the style or manner of similar beef of the same breed from the Kobe region of Japan” doesn’t fit on a lable very well! 😉 Might be. Note that Champagne made in America is now wine produced by Methode Champenoise (or some such; not gonna go look the proper spelling up). They couldn’t get away with Methode Champagne, which, while grammatically incorrect, would have been more identifiable to American buyers. ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2005, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dry-vs-wet-ageing/317860/15 "2005-08-26T22:13:44Z")
> [@Shalmanese](#): > > Grr… It annoys me how the US industry have misappropriated the word Kobe… It’s hardly the only word that’s been misappropriated by the north 'merkin food industry. Parmesan cheese from Texas, and Feta from Canada, are two abominations I’ve encountered. (And yes, I say abomination in the context of them tasting foul.) ---
**Author:** ![Shalmanese](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shalmanese](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shalmanese)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2005, 9:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dry-vs-wet-ageing/317860/16 "2005-08-27T09:45:01Z")
> [@EJsGirl](#): > > But was my animal massaged like a “real” Kobe animal? 😉 > > I didn’t the Parmegiano Reggiano thing was ruled on yet. Most likely no, AFAIK, there are no non-japanese farmers who do the whole beer-and-virgin-massages thing. Conventionally, AOC and similar region appelation codes only hold for within the country although you could conceivably try and file a false advertising claim. Generally however, it’s considered good manners to respect other countries regional appelations.