1.
marbled meat; marbling
Refers to beef or other meat with fine streaks of fat running through it, resembling frost. Highly prized in Japanese cuisine for its tenderness and flavor.
2.
frost pattern; frosted appearance
A pattern or appearance resembling frost, used to describe textiles, ceramics, or other surfaces with a speckled white-on-dark pattern.
When referring to meat, 霜降り describes the fine white fat marbling that runs through red meat, creating a pattern that looks like frost (霜). This marbling is a key quality indicator for Japanese beef, especially 和牛. The word comes from 霜 (frost) + 降り (falling). In the textile sense, it refers to a heathered or speckled pattern. Common collocations include 霜降り肉 (marbled meat) and 霜降り和牛 (marbled wagyu).