At a recent academic lecture on Japanese wagyu beef held by the Japan society in Midtown, the well-heeled crowd was restless. After hearing experts hold forth on how and why this cow flesh is so feverishly revered, a follow-up cooking demo heightened the anticipation. As we all squirmed in our auditorium chairs, a maddeningly chipper Japanese cooking instructor prepared wagyu dishes onstage. Savory smoke wafted out, and the sizzling beef was magnified on a jumbo screen. We could look and we could smell, but we couldn’t eat.

By the time samples were served, the audience had reached a Lord of the Flies level of desperation. Men in nice suits jostled each other for prime place in line, mashing themselves forward like cattle. Our minders sternly intoned “One sample per person!” 

Such is the fervor inspired by beef from the world’s most exclusive cows, raised in small groups in a mountainous section of Japan, sometimes massaged by hand, fed beer and sake, and eventually fetching top dollar at tony restaurants and import shops around the world. There’s a whole lot of hype surrounding this mythic meat— and still many misconceptions, including "domestic wagyu" impostors, that obscure our understanding of it. Presented by Ryuta Kawano, a general manager at Japanese wagyu purveyor Zen-Noh, and Dr. Daniel Botsman, Yale agrarian studies professor and Japanese beef expert, the seminar was an opportunity to apply some academic scrutiny to this niche meat.

After we had torn into our modest allotments of wagyu (served in a wee rice burger alongside a pickle on a stick), there was time to reflect on some of the evening’s takeaways. For all the deafening buzz surrounding the “caviar of beef," there is still so much its average consumer doesn’t know. 

With that in mind, here are 9 scientific and historical factoids that pull back the curtain on wagyu beef's allure.

It’s easy to let the subtleties get drowned out in all that sizzle, but supertasters have found peach and coconut notes to be the consistent flow-through in all wagyu beef. The cattle’s diet is typically corn, wheat, and rice straw, so experts aren’t certain where these curious flavors originate. Perhaps it’s the power of suggestion, but once you start looking for it, you’ll taste it too.

In a curious bit of scientific dazzle, the fat from wagyu actually has a lower melting point than the human body temperature. So while you roll it over your tongue (looking for those tropical, fruity notes), you’ll surely notice it liquefying.

There are four types of cattle that can qualify as wagyu: Japanese Black, Japanese Brown, Japanese Poll, and Japanese Shorthorn. But the vast majority of what consumers eat comes from the sleek and handsome Japanese Black. Production of the other three breeds have slackened off in recent decades, perhaps due to not-quite-as-tender beef (Japanese Shorthorn, for instance, is said to be a leaner breed.)

It’s certainly not going to ruin your meal, but the onstage cooking expert said that wagyu has such a rich and distinctive flavor that butter can serve as a distraction. Instead, she suggested heating up some wagyu tallow in the pan before throwing in your steak. In essence, it’s wagyu-on-wagyu cooking.

For many centuries, wagyu cattle played such a vital role in farm work—pulling plows, producing fertilizer and the like—that meat was just not seen as their purpose. It may be hard for us to believe, but these insanely delicious creatures were only used for producing rice and vegetables.

As a Buddhist nation, Japan expressly forbid the consumption of animals (an exception was made for fish starting in the year 737). But cattle had particularly robust protections—it was illegal to even let one die of sickness without caring for it. “You had to care for it until its last dying breath,” said Botsman.

Things got strict under Tsunayoshi, the “Dog Shogun” (1680-1709). His legal protections for cows—and dogs—were fierce, and at least one scoundrel was crucified for killing Wagyu.

When meat was still not eaten in most of Japanese society, the country’s elites started occasionally consuming wagyu for its “medicinal” properties during the Edo period.

The influx of Westerners into Japan created a market for killing its cows, a slow trickle throughout the 20th century that became the roaring demand we see today. Should we feel bad for usurping centuries-old traditions? That’s probably not a question you should answer after a mind-blowing wagyu dinner.