Fugu fish
Fugu is a Japanese delicacy, highly revered and served in a heavily ritualised manner. Made from the meat of particularly poisonous pufferfish, just one of which contains enough poison to kill 30 people. If prepared incorrectly, an unlucky diner is likely to experience nausea, vomiting, paralysis, and eventually death by asphyxiation.
The poison is tetrodotoxin and is 1,200 times more lethal than cyanide with no known antidote – however, due to the intense training of the Chef’s deaths from this dish are extremely rare indeed.
Fugu generally retails for $300/£160 per kilo, or $135/£70 per pound.
The torafugu, or tiger blowfish is the most prestigious edible species and the most poisonous.
Jamón Ibérico de Bellota
Jamón ibérico de bellota (Iberian acorn ham) is the world’s most expensive pig product.
The highest grade of Spanish jamón ibérico meat, jamón ibérico de bellota comes from the Black Iberian Pig breed, which is raised free-range among the forests along the Spanish-Portuguese border and eats only acorns.
This luxury ham has only been available to buy in the US and UK since 2007 but now has a steady supply both sides of the Atlantic.
Price per kilo is $300/£160 or $140/£75 per pound.
Kona Nigari
The worlds most expensive water, desalinated seawater is collected from 2,000 feet below the surface of the ocean to produce a concentrate, must first be mixed with regular drinking water before consuming.
The concentrate is high in minerals and free of contaminants, and seemingly, aids weight loss. A single 60ml/2fl oz bottle costs $33/£20.
80,000 bottles of Kona Nigari are shipped to Japan every day.
Matsutake mushrooms
The matsutake mushroom has been highly valued in Japan for centuries. Also known as mattake, this large fungus is found on particular types of pine tree in areas of Japan, Korea, China, and even Finland.
In keeping with the country’s reverence for ancient customs, some reports attribute Japan’s affection for the matsutake to its respect for tradition rather than the mushroom’s flavour, which is said to be rather bland.
Japanese matsutake retails for $2000/£1200 per kilo, or $4400/£2600 per pound.
Bird’s Nest soup
Bird’s Nest soup is used for both culinary and medicinal purposes – and as you guessed, it’s made from bird’s nests. Specifically, the glue-like saliva nests created by birds like the swallow.
This food is famous in eastern culture that it’s usually called “Caviar of the east”. A kilogram/2.2lbs of this white nest can cost up to $2,000/£1200, and a kilo of “red blood” nest is even more expensive and can cost up to $10,000/£6000.
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