The world’s most expensive food is likely not the kind of thing you are confronted with on a daily basis. But if you live in Europe or Asia, chances are you’ve heard of some of the following foods; they may even be part of the local culture.
As for the rest of us, we really have to go out of our way to put forth some serious, hardly justifiable cash for a few slivers, dashes, sips or bites of these 6 most expensive food choices in the world. And that’s a good thing for those foodies among us who would otherwise be tempted.
1. Japanese Densuke Watermelon
On June 10, 2014, someone paid $3,500 for a watermelon. But it wasn’t just for any ol’ watermelon, it was for a Densuke watermelon. This type is famous for its black skin and sweet flesh. Grown in an island in northern Japan, only 10,000 Densuke watermelons are produced each year. In June 2008, one of the first harvested watermelons was sold for about $6,300! The Densuke watermelon also holds the world record for heaviest watermelon at 262 pounds.
2. White Truffles
The crowned jewel of Italian gastronomy, the white truffle has long been referred to as the most expensive ingredient in the world. In the 2012 season, it cost more than $3,000 per pound! Depending on the climate conditions, the truffle’s price can jump and drop by $1,000 between seasons. All that for a type of mushroom? Turns out, truffles are incredibly rare. The white truffle, especially, is only available a few months per year and almost exclusively from one part of Italy. They must be foraged by special pigs too. This exotic mushroom is only getting more luxurious, as global warming has reduced the quality and quantity of truffle production.
3. Kopi Luwak
I got wind of this coffee a few years ago and have never been inclined to try it, until now. Perhaps the exotic twist tempts me. Kopi Luwak refers to an Indonesian coffee that is processed first by Asian palm civets, or luwaks, jungle mammals that roam the coffee plantations of Java, Sumatra and Sulawesi, eating ripe coffee cherries. Unable to digest the beans, the luwaks defecate them on the jungle floor, where they are collected and used to make coffee. Apparently the stomach acids and enzymes are absorbed into the beans during fermentation in the civets digestive tracts and offer a unique result – a bean with shorter peptides and more free amino acids. It’s not exactly your morning cup of Joe, as it’ll cost you $700/kilogram.
4. Jamon Iberico de Bellota
Spain is known for its ham, and the finest among all is the cured leg of a pata negra pig, known as Jamón Ibérico de Bellota. It comes from free-range, acorn-eating pigs roaming oak forests on the border between Spain and Portugal. It is rich in flavor and low in saturated fat. The ham is cured for 36 months and then sold for about $1,300, or $87 per pound.
5. Saffron
With a base price of $1,500 per pound or more, this isn’t the kind of spice you want to use liberally. These little threads are actually the stigmas of tiny crocus flowers grown in Spain, Iran, Greece and India. Each flower only produces three stigmas, so it takes an acre of land to produce just one pound of saffron threats.
6. Diva Vodka
Would you pay $1 million for a buzz? For a bottle of Diva Vodka, you’re going to have to. This vodka is created by a triple-refined distilling process and finished by pouring through precious stones. You don’t necessarily want to black out on the night you sip on Diva Vodka, because it’d be an occasion to remember.
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Photo Credit: Hairi