This has been a difficult list to write because the prices of these items
vary from season to season. However, despite that, these 10 foods are generally
the most expensive things you can eat. The ordering is based partly on price and
partly on how luxurious they are considered to be.
1. Beluga Caviar:
Beluga Caviar is the most expensive food item in the world, costing up to $5,000
per kilogram. Caviar is fish roe (eggs) and this particular brand comes from the
Beluga Sturgeon, found mostly in the Caspian sea. It can take up to 20 years for
a Beluga Sturgeon to reach its maximum size and they can weigh up to 2 tonnes.
The eggs are the largest of the fish eggs used for caviar. Beluga usually ranges
from purple to black, the palest being the most expensive. Beluga caviar is
generally served on its own on small pieces of toast as it needs no additions of
flavour to improve it.
If you have not experienced eating caviar, when you bite
down each egg pops and releases a slightly salty-fishy flavour.
1. Saffron:
Saffron is the most expensive spice in the world, reaching prices beyond $2,000
per pound (depending on season). Saffron is the three stigmas and style of the
crocus flower. Each stigma and style must be picked by hand and it takes
thousands to make a single ounce of the spice. Brightly yellow in colour, the
spice is used for colouring and subtle flavouring of food. It has a bitter taste
and a hay-like fragrance.
2. White Truffles:
Truffles are from the underground ascomycetes family (tubers) and are reputed
for their high prices. It has an odour similar to deep fried walnuts which is
extremely pungent to some people, causing a reeling effect. Interestingly, some
people are unable to detect the odour of truffles (which is possibly to their
advantage!) The white truffle is the most expensive of the family. They are
generally served sliced into extremely thin slivers on top of other food and are
frequently suffused in oil for sale as truffle-oil.
3. Kobe Beef:
True Kobe Beef (神戸ビーフ) – raised from the black Tajima-ushi breed of Wagyu cattle
– is produced only in Hyōgo Prefecture in Japan. It is bred according to secret,
and strict traditions. It is fed on beer and grain and produces meat so tender
and fatty that it rivals foie gras in texture. The beef can cost up to $300 per
pound. This breed of cow is genetically predisposed to intense marbling, and
produces a higher percentage of oleaginous, unsaturated fat than any other breed
of cattle known in the world. Another special trick in the production of this
meat is daily massages by the human owners. I must confess to being a little
envious!
5. Bird’s Nest:
The nests in question here are produced by a variety of Swifts, specifically
Cave Swifts who produce the nest by spitting a chemical compound that hardens in
the air. The nests are considered a delicacy in China and are one of the most
expensive animal products consumed by humans. It is generally served as a soup
but can also be used as a sweet. When combined with water, the hard nests take
on a gelatinous texture. My own experience of Bird’s nest was in a pudding
called Bird’s Nest and Almond soup – the nest was dissolved in almond milk which
was served as a sweet soup. The nest tasted musty and had the texture of snot.
6. Fugu:
Fugu (ふぐ) is the Japanese word for pufferfish and is also a Japanese dish
prepared from the meat of pufferfish. Pufferfish are deadly and if the fish is
prepared incorrectly it can lead to death (in fact there are numerous deaths
reported in Japan each year from the consumption of this delicacy). One pinhead
of the pufferfish poison is sufficient to kill a full grown adult male human. It
has become one of the most celebrated Japanese dishes. In order to prepare the
fish for human consumption, a Japanese chef must undergo rigourous training and
certification. It is normally prepared in such a way that a tiny amount of
poison is left in the fish as the poison gives it a slightly numbing and
tingling effect.
7. Foie Gras:
Second to caviar, foie gras is one of the finest western foods available. It is
the liver of ducks (foie gras de canard) or geese (fois gras d’Oie). It is
produced by a method called gravage, which is force-feeding of the animal of
grain via a tube down the throat. Ducks and Geese have an anatomy that makes
this painless. The liver expands to many times the normal size and contains a
great deal of fat. The texture of foie gras is very similar to that of butter
with a very earthy flavour. Foie gras is generally eaten as a raw pate, but is
can be lightly cooked to give it a greater depth of flavour. Unfortunately this
delicacy is surrounded by controversy and the sale and consumption is banned in
some American cities (such as Chicago). It is freely available in all parts of
Europe and the rest of the world.
8. Lobster:
Lobsters form a large family of marine crustaceans that nets a $1.8 billion for
the seafood industry every year. They have a close family relationship with
fresh water crayfish. Lobsters live on rocky, sandy, or muddy bottoms from the
shoreline to beyond the edge of the continental shelf. They generally live
singly in crevices or in burrows under rocks. The most common preparation of
lobster is to drop the living creature into a pot of boiling water which kills
it very quickly. The flesh is then served with melted butter so as to not
overpower the subtle flavour of the meat.
9. matsutake:
Matsutake (松茸) is the common name for a group of mushrooms in Japan. They have
been an important part of Japanese cuisine for the last 1,000 years. The
tradition of mushroom giving persists today in Japan’s corporate world, and a
gift of matsutake is considered special and is cherished by those who receive
it. The annual harvest of Matsutake in Japan is now less than 1000 tons, and it
is partly made up by imports from China, Korea, and Canada; this is due to the
difficulty in harvesting the mushrooms. The Japanese Matsutake at the beginning
of the season, which is the highest grade, can go up to $2000 per kilogram.
10. Oysters:
The name oyster is used for a number of different groups of mollusks which grow
for the most part in marine or brackish water (water that is saltier than fresh
water but not as salty as sea water). The oyster is the root of an idiomatic
saying “The world is your oyster”, which means that to achieve something in this
world, you have to grab the opportunity. All types of oysters (and, indeed, many
other shelled molluscs) can secrete pearls, but those from edible oysters have
no market value. Oysters are best served raw in their own juices with a slice of
lemon. Oysters have, for many years, been considered an aphrodisiac.
If your skin has yellow tones. If your skin has yellow tones, stay away from
ivory or pink for your foundation and stick to warmer hues with a yellow base.
Also, avoid using 
