Food is one of the basic needs of mankind. We need food for our survival and wellbeing, but there are some food items that are so expensive that it’s restricted to the more fortunate class only. And, this class doesn’t like it easy. Some of the most expensive food in the world earned their stature due to their limited production and some are just in here due to a bizarre turn of events.
If you’re also one of those who likes to wonder what the rich think, like, wear, live, and eat? Then this is the right spot for you. In this list of most expensive food in the world, we’ll list down some of the most expensive food items that cost a lot of mullahs and an expensive taste to savor. Check them out here:
5. Pule Cheese ($576/lbs) – Most Expensive Cheese In The World
What if you were told that the most expensive cheese in the world doesn’t come from cows and goats, but from the donkey. Yes! The most expensive cheese in the world pule cheese with a price of $576 for a pound is made from the milk of donkey.
Pule cheese is manufactured in Serbia by Zasavica donkey reserve which is home to 100 endangered Balkan donkeys. The Pule cheese is known for its crumbly texture and natural saltiness. The main reason behind the hefty price of this cheese is that donkeys don’t give much milk, on average 15 donkeys can yield about one gallon of milk and at least four gallons are required to make a pound of cheese.
4. Kopi Luwak Coffee ($700-$800/kg)
It’s not a food but a beverage but due to its hefty price tag of $700-$800 for a kilogram, it is one of the most expensive beverages in the world. Kopi luwak or civet coffee is made from the coffee beans which are eaten and then defecated (semi-digested) by the palm civet or the civet cat.
It is believed that the semi digestion and fermentation of the beans caused by the acid present in the stomach of civet cats enhances the flavor of the coffee. A single cup of kopi luwak coffee can cost you anywhere between $80-$100.
3. Saffron ($500-$5000/kg)
Saffron or Zaafran is more of a spice and an aromatic rather than being a food item. A kilogram of saffron can cost about $500-$5000 thus it is often called the red gold. Saffron is nothing but vivid crimson threads (or stigma) from a crocus flower, and it’s used as a coloring agent in food, interestingly, each flower only produces only 3 stigmas.
The reason that saffron is so expensive is that crocus flowers only bloom for a week in the autumn season therefore harvesting the flower is very labour extensive work and as each flower bears only three saffron strands thus a land size of a football field would only yield a kilogram of saffron.
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2. White Truffle ($6000-$10,000/lbs) – Most Expensive Food In The World
This pungent-smelling underground fungus is found in the Piedmont region of northern Italy. Among the truffles, the Piedmont white truffle is the most expensive one. Often called the diamond of the kitchen, white truffle only grows among the roots of some specific trees and is much rarer than any other type of truffle.
A pound of white truffle can cost anywhere between $6000-$10000 depending upon the quality, and this price changes every year depending on availability and quality. This obnoxious price is due to its scarcity and the reason that it can’t be cultivated or grown anywhere, although the natives have tried for generations to farm the truffles they can still only be found in the wild. This unpredictability calls for the huge price tag it bears and for this truffle to be on this list of most expensive food in the world.
1. Caviar ($7000-$10000/kg) – Most Expensive Food In The World
Once considered as the fishermen’s food is now one of the most expensive food in the world. Caviar is seasoned and salt-cured fish roe (unfertilized fish eggs), to be very precise, it’s salted and seasoned roe of a very famous fish called the beluga sturgeon (not to be confused with beluga Whale) found in the Caspian and Black sea.
A good beluga Caviar can cost up to $7000-$10000 for a kilogram. The reason that it costs a fortune is that a beluga sturgeon can take up to two decades for reaching a mature age and adult size. Due to extensive fishing of this fish, it almost became extinct in the wild thus wild beluga Caviar is illegal and a very less amount can be sold legally.
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These were some of the most expensive food in the world. There are other food items like wagyu beef, foie gras, Iberico ham which are also considered as the expensive delicacies in the world, though these ones come on the top.