For most people, eating lobster or steak are reserved only for special occasions such as anniversary dinners or celebrating a promotion or a pay raise. However, for the opulent, steaks and lobsters are just ordinary meals they eat every day. Wealthy people will not hesitate to purchase food that may be too expensive for ordinary people to even dream of. Why would they not? If they earned their money, then they deserve to eat whatever they want. Here are five of the world’s most expensive food that only the rich can afford to buy casually.
Saffron. Saffron, also known as “Red Gold”, is one of the world’s most expensive ingredient. High-quality grade saffron can cost over $10,000 per kilo, which is more expensive than gold. Saffron is the dried stigma and styles of the Crocus sativus plants. Saffron is expensive because of its labour-intensive harvesting procedures. The stigma and styles are very delicate and must be harvested by hand only. It takes around 170 thousand flowers and more than forty hours of labour to pick and produce a kilo of this expensive ingredient.
Caviar. Caviar is made from the eggs of sturgeon fish which are pickled and then canned. Sturgeon fishes, especially the beluga sturgeon, are extremely rare and considered endangered species. The Guinness Book of World Records has documented the most expensive caviar came from a 100-year-old albino sturgeon. The caviar was priced at $34,500 per kilogram.
Truffles. Truffles may cost from $2000 to $4000 per kilogram depending on their variety. Black truffles are much cheaper than their white-coloured cousins. Truffles are expensive because they are impossible to cultivate and that they are very hard to find. Likewise, a harvested truffle does not have a long shelf life, and therefore you need to serve or use it in less than 36 hours to keep its freshness.
Wagyu Beef. The Japanese produce the highest-valued beef in the world. Wagyu cattle are expensive and are priced forty times more than US cattle. The cost of Wagyu beef is reflected in how the Japanese raise their cattle. Young Wagyu cattle are allowed to grow up in a stress-free open pasture, and they are fed with milk by hand. Wagyu steaks will usually cost around $450 to $500 per kilo and depends on where the Wagyu cattle come from. The most expensive cuts of Wagyu come from a cow coming from the Mie Prefecture in Japan, which was sold for $400,000.
Iberico Ham. Iberico Ham is considered one of the most expensive proteins that you can purchase. A single leg of ham can cost up to $4500. Iberico ham is expensive since it comes from a rare breed of pig that produces a small litter and less meat. These pigs are fed mostly acorns to give their meat a nutty flavour.
Most people will break their banks to taste the food mentioned above items. For the rich, these items are just ingredients that they can casually purchase and have any time they feel like it.
