Have you ever been to a fancy restaurant where the prices look like phone numbers? I personally haven’t, but I’m gonna tell you a little secret about why the food there costs so much. Well, apart from the obvious “the chef has mad skills and this sirloin melts in my mouth”. Five-star restaurants often use S-class ingredients that are either incredibly delicious, extremely hard to find, or require a specific preparation technique… or all of the above, really. We’re talking delicacies here, and not just some rare wild boar sausage for $50 a pound, but, like, actual rare stuff.
Now, go get yourself a bucket, because you’re gonna need it for all that drool! Let’s see why these 10 crazy-rare delicacies cost so much, shall we?
Matsutake Mushrooms
At $600/kg comes our first contender – Matsutake mushroom. Native to Japan, these bad boys are basically a dying breed, as we haven’t come up with a way to cultivate them. Their number is constantly decreasing due to several insect species also wanting a piece of that shroom, as well as trees finding their way into the shaded areas, where the Matsutake mushrooms usually grow.
Kopi Luwak Coffee
Let’s not beat around the bush with this one. It’s poop coffee, I’m sure you’ve heard of how it’s made. And it costs $250-$1200/kg, even though it is produced in huge quantities in Indonesia, the Philippines, and in southern India. Kopi Luwak is currently the most expensive coffee in the world!
White Pearl Albino Caviar
Who could’ve though that fish “eggs” would cost around $9,000/kg? It’s harvested from the albino sturgeon, that lives in the Caspian Sea. Why so expensive, though? You see, the albino sturgeons must be about 100 years old to start laying eggs. Is it worth the wait? Let me know if you’ve tried it.
Swallows’ Nest Soup
Swallows are pretty common, so why do their nests cost $3000/kg in China? Believe it or not, these little bastards nest on sheer cliffs, making it almost impossible to reach them. Keyword here is “almost”. I don’t even want to know how many people have died trying to get those nests, which, by the way, are made entirely out of the birds’ saliva. It’s a high risk, high reward kind of situation.
Saffron
What’s so special about some weird-smelling grass? Apparently, saffron grows only for 7 days a year, and to harvest 1kg of this spice, you’d need to pick over 300,000 flowers. But that’s hard work that pays off, as 1kg of this stuff will net you anywhere from $400 to $1000, depending on the buyer, I suppose.
White Truffles
Because of the specific conditions required for the truffles to grow, and a very quirky harvesting method, these European delicacies will cost you around €2,000/kg ($2,100). Definitely not your casual price, if you ask me.
Ayam Cemani Black Chicken
Remember those black Indonesian chickens we’ve covered some time ago? They’re also on this list! The Ayam Cemani chicken, sadly can’t be exported from Indonesia due to the potential danger of spreading bird flu. You can still have some while visiting, and 1 chick will cost you around $200. Fun fact: in Malaysia the Ayam Cemani are so common that it’ll cost you as much as a regular old hen.
Japanese Wagyu Steaks
One of the most delicious and expensive delicacies in the world are the Japanese Wagyu beef steaks. 1 kg of this meat ambrosia will cost you up to $450! And all this because the purebred Wagyu bulls get massages, drink beer, and listen to classical music, which apparently makes their meat insanely tasty. Not gonna lie, wish I could have some right now.
Dry-Cured Iberian Ham
The legendary Spanish delicacy – Jamón Ibérico – is the most expensive ham in the world, because, apparently, the piggies need to eat only acorns, and that’s expensive for some reason. The cost of one kilogram of dry-cured jamon can reach up to $400. Personally, not a fan of jamon, although, I have not tried this particular kind yet.
Moose Cheese
Welcome our last delicacy – the Jesus of cheeses! Moose cheese, produced on the Moose House farm in Sweden, requires Moose milk. The Moose cheese looks a little bit like feta cheese, and costs around €1,000/kg. Needless to say, the amount of Moose cheese produced is extremely limited, hence the exorbitant price tag. Maybe to stay with feta?
