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IN PICS: The best food money can buy
We look at some of the costliest objects you can send through your digestive system.
Saffron is the most expensive spice in the world, reaching prices beyond $2,000 per pound (depending on season). Saffron comes from the three stigmas of the crocus flower. Each stigma 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. (Getty Images)
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. 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. (Getty Images)
True Kobe Beef – 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. (Getty Images)
Sweet Bird’s Nest Soup – 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. (Getty Images)
Fugu is the Japanese word for pufferfish and is also a Japanese dish prepared from the meat of pufferfish, which is extremely pricey. These fish 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. A Japanese chef must undergo rigourous training and certification. (Getty Images)
Second to caviar, foie gras is considered 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. Foie gras is generally eaten as a raw pate, but is can be lightly cooked to give it a greater depth of flavour. This delicacy is surrounded by controversy and the sale and consumption is banned in some areas of the world. (Getty Images)
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. (Getty Images)
Matsutake 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 1,000 tons, and it is partly made up by imports from China, Korea, and Canada. The Japanese Matsutake at the beginning of the season, which is the highest grade, can go up to $2000 per kilogram. (Getty Images)
The name oyster is used for a number of different groups of molluscs 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). All types of oysters can secrete pearls, but those from edible oysters have no market value. Oysters are usually served raw in their own juices with a slice of lemon. Oysters have, for many years, been considered an aphrodisiac. (Getty Images)
