What is the most expensive food item?

[GB]

We all know that saffron is the most expensive spice. What I would like to know is what is the most expensive single food item period. If I had to guess then I would pick some sort of truffle, but that is just a guess. Does anyone know something that is more expensive?

Mint Tsai was just talking about white truffles and was saying they can go to $2,000/lb.

 

[amber]

Maybe certain types of caviar?

 

[ironchef]

Beluga caviar is the most expensive (it's usually between $150-$300 per oz depending on quality and availability) but I don't use it for the same reason I stopped using Chilean Seabass (Patagonian Toothfish): overfishing and poaching. The Chilean Seabass population has actually been better due to joint international conservation efforts, but the same needs to be done in order to help the beluga sturgeon population.

White truffles can average between $1,200 to $2,400 per pound depending on quality, availability, harvest yield, etc. You can buy single white truffles for about $60-$100 depending on the above factors. The problem with buying single truffles is that it's a crapshoot. You might end up with a "dud", a truffle that is less aromatic and intense in flavor than others of the same harvest. Domestic truffles from Oregon and Washington state are far cheaper than those from Italy or France, but they don't have the same flavors and aromatics. I've seen white truffles from Oregon going for about $25-$50 for a single truffle.

 

[grumblebee]

matsutake mushrooms and abalone are quite expensive.. but I think IC is correct with the cavier and truffles.

 

[BreezyCooking]

I would also agree that "imported wild" caviar & truffles are probably neck & neck. That doesn't necessarily hold true, however, for all the new farmed caviars now available; or for the new domestic cultivated black truffles finding there way into the markets these days.

I also think that edible gold & silver leaf used in fancy cooking are also way way up there alongside wild caviar & truffles.

 

[Banana Brain]

"If I were on death row, I would pick the world's rarest truffle for my last meal. That way I could escape while they were searching for the world's rarest truffle."
-Dale, King of The Hill

Heh, sorry it just made me think of that.

 

[-DEADLY SUSHI-]

Wasnt the most expensive thing the cake from Steinfeld? I think it was a piece of cake from 18th Century royalty.

 

[BreezyCooking]

YES - lol!! "Seinfeld" was/is one of my favorite sitcoms & I remember that episode well. J. Peterman buys a piece of wedding cake from, I think, the Duke of Windsor/Mrs. Wallis Simpson wedding, at auction for thousands of dollars, & Elaine gets a "cake craving" & eats it.

The parting shot was particularly good. Her boss, "J. Peterman" (of the famous catalog company) tells her that he's not going to fire her, that the effect of decades-old butter frosting in her stomach is going to be punishment enough - lol!!!

 

[RDG]

White truffles, in big sizes, are now more than 5000€ (6500USD) in Italy.....

 

[cloudybutnice]

I've never tasted truffles or caviar, so don't really know what all the fuss is about. Are they really that good?

 

[RDG]

Cloudy,The whole world is divided in two parts: those who think that caviar is only "fish eggs", and the ones that think that caviar is very special.
Or, if you like better, those who think that truffle is only stinking, and those who think that their smell is the ambrose smell, the Paradise Parfume..... Or you love them, or you hate. My wife goes out on balcony, when I eat truffles.....

Somewhere, I read this phrase: God invented truffles, the Man invented Cooks....

 

[cara]

I myself don't lioke truffles, could well live without it.. but I really like caviar, but for me it's much too expensive...
had it once on my cousin's wedding, he got married into a danish steak house family, and they had tons of real beluga caviar.. among oysters and all this stuff...
but the roastbeef had been one of the best in my life..
I don't want to know what they paid for their only daughter to get married...
okay, well they are not living together anymore...

 

[Swann]

It is not really a food item but some old vintage wine can be mighty pricey!

 

[BreezyCooking]

I really like caviar, & over the years, while I've got to sample what's supposed to be the "good stuff", I now always order the new American types. I simply like them better (which is also better for my wallet - lol). Favorites are salmon, trout, paddlefish, & hackleback.

As far as "vintage" wines, I could never get into them. With wine, & frankly everything else "food", I go with what I like. Once attended a friend's wine tasting where we were all supposed to bring a bottle. It was very surprising to find that my bottle of $6.99 Spanish Brut sparkling wine was voted superior to the Dom Perignon someone else brought - LOL!!!!!

 

[Ishbel]

I wish I liked truffles! So many of the top restaurants I've visited use either truffle shavings or truffle oil as a finishing touch. The smell is enough for me!

Haven't eaten caviare for many years - along with veal, I choose not to eat this kind of food.