saffron

Top Ten Most Luxurious Foods in the World

Foodies love to try new dishes and visit five-star restaurants. It’s all part of the chase for the next explosion of flavor and luxury experience. Although many of the tastings you’ll find on blogs and in food-centered magazines are indulgent, there are certain things you can only order if money is no object.

Check out the top 10 most luxurious foods in the world to find out why they’re so rare and elegant. They may inspire your taste-testing bucket list so that you always have something incredible to look forward to.

1. Saffron

saffron flowers

When it comes to spices, saffron is in a class of its own. It comes from the style and three stigmas of the crocus flower, which means it has to be picked by hand. Thousands of these flowers are required to create one ounce of saffron, so it’s only in the most expensive and colorful dishes.

2. White Alba Truffles

White Alba Truffles

Truffles have no outer protective layer, so they’re typically expensive because they’re difficult to grow. The Italian White Alba Truffle is one of the most extravagant varieties. It only grows in a specific region of the world during particular times of the year. On average, people spend $85,000 for two pounds of this kind of truffle, so chefs use it sparingly.

3. Oysters

oysters

Once a staple food for the lower class, oysters now count among the top luxury foods in the world. In the 19th century, the seafood industry caught and sold over 80 million of them, so now they’re a high-end dish.

4. Caviar

caviar

Caviar is hand-picked and farmed over multiple years, so it requires a considerable investment from anyone in the caviar business. It comes from sturgeon fish, which take six years to produce eggs. It may also take longer to accrue wealth since older caviar is considered more valuable.

5. Kobe Beef

kobe beef

Raised only in Japan, Kobe beef requires cattle farmers to abide by strict rules. The cows only get specific feed blends and pastures so that the steaks achieve the marbled appearance from only 3,000 cows every year.

6. Lobster

Lobster

Lobster is a delicacy because extreme care and attention go into every step from catching to plating. It also offers some of th best health benefits. Eating lobster can boost your immune system, which has become more critical than ever in a post-COVID world.

7. Black Densuke Watermelons

Black Densuke Watermelon
Photo from www.thestar.com/

Black watermelons are extremely rare. Mostly found on the Japanese coast, they sell for $6,000 each and only in crates of 250 or more. Their sweetness is unique to the fruit, so people everywhere pay for the time and effort it takes to grow these exclusive watermelons.

8. Edible Gold Leaf

edible gold leaf

The world’s best-kept secret is that gold is edible in some forms. Experts can shape the mineral into gold leaves that cost $15,000 per pound, which is why it mostly appears as a decoration on highly-priced cakes and desserts.

9. Angulas

Angulas

People sometimes refer to angulas as glass noodles, but they’re actually baby eels from Northern Spain. They hatch in the Gulf Stream and grow while they travel on a two-year journey to Europe. They usually end up on Spain’s shores during a specific season, so they’re a delicacy to many people who pay any price to try them.

10. Fugu

fugu

Fugu is an extremely poisonous pufferfish that’s a traditional Japanese dish. Apprentices study and practice for over a decade to get licensed as a fugu chef. There are multiple types of recipes for the fugu fish, but they all come with an expensive price tag because of the training and expertise needed to serve the meal.

Keep an Open Mind

The most luxurious foods in the world achieve this kind of mythic reputation because they’re not commonly found or easily made. Keep an open mind when you figure out what you want to try next. It might not be something you’ve had before, but they’re highly recommended by the lucky few who have tasted them in the past.