Which Foods are the World’s Rarest?

July 29, 2014

Food is the universal language and even though different parts of the world eat different things, we can all relate to amazing food. Not everybody will have the opportunity to try some of the rarest foods in the world, however. Here are a few of the rarest food items found across the globe.

Saffron

Most everybody will get to try this one, but it’s known as a very rare food. Saffron is a spice that comes from India and it’s known as one of the best in the world. It’s grown in many other areas of the world now and one pound of saffron requires over 50,000 flowers.

Matsutake Mushroom

Found all over the globe including the United States, Canada, China, Sweden and Finland, this mushroom is most known in Japanese cuisine. It’s both meaty and spicy with a similar texture to a Portobello mushroom. The Matsutake mushroom isn’t easy to produce and it sells for about $90 per kilogram.

Almas Caviar

Known as wealthy dish caviar, in general is expensive. However, the Almas caviar comes from the Beluga Sturgeon fish and sells for up to $15,000 per pound. The fish takes a very long time to mature sand produce eggs, which is what makes this caviar so rare and expensive.

White Truffle

Both black and white truffle is very rare, but the white truffle is even harder to find. It grows in Croatia, Italy and France and is very difficult to cultivate. This truffle can sell for up to $4,200 per pound and the larger ones can sell for even more. A 3.3 pound white truffle sold for $330,000 at auction once.

Bird’s Nest Soup

Known as the “Caviar of the East,” this Chinese soup is very difficult to find. It’s made from cave swifts nests, which is a bird in the area. The nests these birds create are found in caves, which makes it very hard to gather the ingredient for the soup. It can sell for up to $4,500 per pound.

These are just a few of the many rare foods found across the globe. They all come in with high price tags because they are so hard to find, as well.