Truffles hold that honor. Like the mushroom, the truffle is a fungus. Some truffles are just the size of a pea, while others are as big as an orange. These black fungi grow in parts of France and Italy. They are used most often in small amounts to give a flavor to certain dishes, especially sauces.
It’s a good thing that truffles are used in small amounts, because they are the single most expensive food item in the world. Truffles usually cost more than $100 a pound, with the best truffles costing well over $200 a pound!
Truffles grow underground, and are very hard to find. Farmers use trained pigs to locate truffles. The pigs sniff around until they pick up the scent of a truffle, then begin to dig. The farmer chases the pig away and digs up the truffle for himself. If he’s not fast enough, though, the pig will dig up the truffle and eat it. And at $200 a pound, that’s an expensive meal for a pig!
Though truffles are the most expensive food in the world, they have no vitamins or other nutritional value!
Many “facts” in this article are outdated and incorrect. Please consult a mycologist and rewrite.
Dogs are used most times now to find truffles; saffron is more likely is the “the single most expensive food item in the world”; not all truffles are black in color; nutritional value more likely follows other fungi – having vitamin D and protein value.
Truffles do vary in price depending on species and assumed quality. The most expensive truffle ever sold at auction fetched a whopping $160,406 USD and weighed 3.3 lbs.
Well, they are expensive, but they don’t weigh anything. You would have to eat a lot of truffles to eat a pound!
Robin,
quote “Well, they are expensive, but they don’t weigh anything. You would have to eat a lot of truffles to eat a pound!”
wrong,
they do have weight to them
think