What is the most expensive food in the world?
Some of the most expensive foods include saffron, white truffles, beluga caviar, Japanese wagyu beef and edible bird's nests. Per kilogram, rare caviar and white truffles can cost thousands of dollars.
White truffles from Alba, Italy, are among the priciest foods, sometimes selling for more than 5,000 dollars per kilogram in good seasons, and much more at auctions. They grow underground and are found by trained dogs. Their strong aroma means only a few shavings are needed on a dish.
Beluga caviar, the eggs of the beluga sturgeon, is rare because the fish is critically endangered and wild catches are banned in most places. Farmed beluga caviar can cost thousands of dollars per kilogram. Saffron, from the dried stigmas of crocus flowers, requires about 150,000 flowers to produce one kilogram.
Other luxury foods
Japanese wagyu beef, such as Kobe beef, is prized for its marbling. Edible bird's nests, made from swiftlet saliva, are valued in Chinese cuisine. Rare fruits, like Yubari King melons from Japan, have sold for tens of thousands of dollars per pair at auction.
Did You Know?
Saffron is often called red gold, and Iran produces about 90 percent of the world's supply.