For about $150 per pound, dedicated carnivores and food connoisseurs alike can get their forks on a luxury: Wagyu beef.

150刀一磅，肉食者和美食家都刀向叉往的奢侈品：神户牛肉。

Its trademark marbled flesh and soft texture have launched the meat into caviar-like status.

标志性的大理石肉纹和柔软质地，地位直追鱼子酱。

And because its fat has a melting point lower than the average human body temperature, it melts in your mouth.

神户牛肉脂肪的熔点低于人体体温，想象一下它们在嘴巴里熔化的感觉吧。

The vast majority of the beef comes from Japanese Black cattle.

绝大多数神户牛肉来自于日本的黑牛。（译者按：又译和牛）

Part of its allure is the smell — a unique sweet, coconut-like aroma.

芬芳难抵挡——神户牛肉有一种非常独特的类似椰子的甜香。

 New research from the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry pinpoints 16 compounds that give it this distinct smell, 10 of which are newly associated with the meat.

农业与食品化学杂志新发研究指出，此独特气味源于16种化合物，其中10种与肉相关。

The strongest element: compounds derived from fatty acid.

最强大元素：脂肪酸洐生的化合物。

Satsuki Inagaki, the lead author, says that while the smell of the beef is important, scientists weren't sure what was behind it. The paper points out that a previous study identified one compound that that played a large role in the beef's smell, but that there was a potential flaw in the study: the meat wasn't cooked to an optimal temperature.

第一作者Satsuki Inagaki指出科学家还没能明确香味的根源所在。该论文虽然指出了牛肉香味的关键化合物，但是该研究有一个潜在缺陷：牛肉并没有烹调到最佳温度。

In the recent research, conducted through Ogawa & Company, Ltd., the researchers analyzed several beef samples — along with Wagyu they looked at grass-fed Australian beef andU.S.beef as comparisons.

最近由Ogawa & Company, Ltd.主导的研究分析了几种牛肉样本，包括神户牛肉以及对照用的澳洲草饲牛肉和美国本土牛肉。

Alone, these compounds are not necessarily special. Inagaki says that some are also found in foods like tea, beer, citrus fruits, fennel and peanuts. The paper explains that one compound is associated with egg whites, and another with cooked chicken.

Inagaki说单看这些化合物平淡无奇，它们也存在于茶叶、啤酒、柑桔、茴香和花生里。论文指出其中一种化合物也存在于蛋清，另一种也存在于熟鸡肉。

What sets Wagyu beef apart from other foods, Inagaki explains, is the balance of these compounds.

Inagaki说让神户牛肉卓尔不群的是这些化合物的平衡模式。

The largest contributor to the Wagyu smell is a compound derived from fatty acid. There's some logic to this — there's a lot of fat in Wagyu beef. Looking at the flesh, or a photo of it at least, you can see flecks of fat in the meat. 

首当其冲的香味源于脂肪酸洐生的化合物。似乎合乎逻辑——神户牛肉有那么多的脂肪。看看这些肉块，甚至仅仅看相片，都能看见肉里脂肪的分布。

Stephen Smith, Texas A&M professor of meat science says, "To me, it's a sea of white with a few flecks of red." Smith explains that the cattle are bred and raised to have 30 to 40 percent fat in the muscle. He says that typicalU.S.beef won't even come close to that.

德州A&M 肉类科学家Stephen Smith教授说“在我看来，那就是白色的脂肪海洋和星点红色肉斑。”Smith解释这种牛就是冲着脂肪占肌肉30%到40%的比率云培养和饲养的。美国的牛肉望尘莫及。

Iowa State  University professor of animal science Joseph Sebranek explains, "It's a genetic trait of these particular breeds of cattle to lay down more fat and give a different fatty acid composition."

爱荷华州立大学动物科学教授Joseph Sebranek解释说，“遗传决定了这种牛具有更多的脂肪和特别的脂肪酸构成。”

Smith adds that it's also partially dietary — the animals are typically fed corn and are kept alive longer than other types of cattle. High qualityU.S.beef is from animals likely fed for 16 to 18 months, he says, while Wagyu beef is fed for at least 30 months.

Smith还说也与饲养相关——神户黑牛通常吃玉米，出栏时间比其它牛更久。美国高品质牛奶饲养16到18个月，神户黑牛至少要饲养30个月。（译者按：黄油老鸡汤爱好者参考）

If you're trying to sink your teeth into this beef in theU.S., good luck. Wagyu, Smith says, means "Japanese style cattle," and hails from four Japanese breeds.

身在美国，你以为你在与神户牛肉亲密接触，Smith说，其实，你吃到的仅仅是日本式牛肉，来自于日本的四种牛后裔而已。

 There is "American Wagyu" from exported Japanese cattle, but it's difficult to say just how purely Wagyu it is.

日本输出的“美国神户牛”，很难说有多纯粹了。

You also might see it referred to as "Kobe beef" in theU.S., which is actually a specific type of Wagyu beef produced only in a particular area ofJapan. It's unlikely you'll find it in theU.S.— there are only about 3,000 cattle each year that are certifiable Kobe beef, and until 2012, it wasn't shipped outside ofJapan.

在美国你也可能会吃到“科比牛肉”，实际上这应该是指只在日本的特定区域生产的特定神户牛肉。你以为你在美国吃到了——然而，每年只有3000头科比牛出栏，并且，2012年以前，从来没有运出过日本。（译者按：五常大米迷妹参考）

Why do you see restaurants advertising Kobe burgers then? Forbes.com writer Larry Olmstead wrote a popular series on Kobe beef. He explained on All Things Considered that underU.S.law, there aren't any specific rules as to what qualifies as Kobe beef, "so we can call pretty much anything we want Kobe."

那么为什么会有那么多餐馆大肆海售科比牛奶？Forbes.com的作者Larry Olmstead写了一系列关于科比牛肉的热文，他解释说根据美国法律，没有什么具体的规则来定义科比牛肉的话，我们可以用科比称呼我们想要的任何东西。（译者再按：美国人说冬虫夏草也没有具体有效成分）

To catch a whiff of this aromatic beef and a taste of its fatty acid, your best bet is probably to go toJapan.

想与真正的神户牛肉一亲芳泽在唇齿之间吐脂肪酸如兰，您还是亲自去一趟日本吧。

仅作学习交流，不作商业用途