# Most expensive food in the grocery?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-expensive-food-in-the-grocery/722491
**Category:** Cafe Society
**Created:** [June 14, 2015, 6:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-expensive-food-in-the-grocery/722491 "2015-06-14T06:54:34Z")
**Posts on this page:** 12
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@grude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grude)
#### Post date: [June 14, 2015, 6:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-expensive-food-in-the-grocery/722491/1 "2015-06-14T06:54:34Z")
Inspired because the other day I was browsing in a small gourmet/import grocery and found some small can of black truffle shavings at nearly 100 USD per tiny can! I was surprised it was just on the shelf with everything else and not locked up.
Most expensive thing I have ever seen for sale was the caviar in Central Market in downtown Houston, it was all locked away in a glass display case. The most expensive variety was an Iranian caviar at more than 1,000 USD an ounce!:eek:
I’m wondering if there is anything that beats that.
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### Author:  [@ThisSpaceForRent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThisSpaceForRent)
#### Post date: [June 14, 2015, 6:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-expensive-food-in-the-grocery/722491/2 "2015-06-14T06:59:47Z")
per weight, Good saffron.
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### Author:  [@Elemenopy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elemenopy)
#### Post date: [June 14, 2015, 8:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-expensive-food-in-the-grocery/722491/3 "2015-06-14T08:08:37Z")
Saffron, truffles, and caviar, good bets. Some other possibilities:
Serbian donkey[cheese](http://dinersjournal.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/12/19/dont-worry-donkey-cheese-is-still-available/?_r=0): $600/lb (though I doubt they carry it at Kroger’s supermarket)
Kobe/Wagyu beef: at least $100/lb, regardless of pedigree.
Good vanilla extract: ~$20/8 oz. or same for a half dozen vanilla beans.
Canned pate or the like: No cite here, but fois gras is absurd, $60/lb or so, and even shitty pork liver pate by Roland can be upwards of $20/lb. I splurge every couple months for duck confit, and it’s about $30/lb. It’s my baby boy’s absolute favorite food, so I justify it. 😃 At least I get to share. I’d make it myself, I know how, but buying duck or goose itself is ridiculously extravagant in the Midwest. Which is weird, because there are rampant geese shitting everywhere. I should get a dart gun or something and start poaching…
Charcuterie: horrendously expensive in the U.S. Good salami, prosciutto, bastarma (highly-seasoned pastrami), bresaola, speck, even humble fatty beef bacon or lardo/slanina…all upwards of $15/lb. Stupid. These are the remnants of butchery, given a salt/smoke cure or some such because they’re no good otherwise, commanding gourmet prices due to rarity. But they’re mostly nice treatments of the byproducts of butchery and shouldn’t be any more pricy than bologna or souse loaf.
Tuna: Not talking about Starkist. To get little canned fillets of Italian tuna, you’ve got to pay about $10 per 6 oz. jar, and that’s if you’re looking hard. Fresh, at a sushi joint? Don’t get me started. I don’t even know how to codify their pricing, especially for otoro. If you want it, you just better be ignoring any prices, not that you’ll be informed ahead of time.
Speaking of which…oysters. Near their port of origin, quite cheap, maybe $.50 per. Anywhere else, expect $3.50 per, even though they were removed from the sea 2 days prior. :rolleyes: Oysters are not \*that \*good, y’all, and I bet you put hot sauce or something on them.
I will not comment now on non-nutritious comestibles like various brandies and port. 😃
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### Author:  [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)
#### Post date: [June 14, 2015, 8:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-expensive-food-in-the-grocery/722491/4 "2015-06-14T08:46:17Z")
The liquor section of the mini-market across the street has a bottle of Johnny Walker Blue in a glass case. I assume that’s pretty expensive.
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### Author:  [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)
#### Post date: [June 14, 2015, 10:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-expensive-food-in-the-grocery/722491/5 "2015-06-14T10:37:58Z")
I’d be disinclined to count saffron or vanilla extract, though. I don’t think they’re technically “food”. Spice, foodstuff? Yes. But you generally do not eat either directly.
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### Author:  [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)
#### Post date: [June 14, 2015, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-expensive-food-in-the-grocery/722491/6 "2015-06-14T15:08:23Z")
At my local Ralphs there is a $2200 bottle of Louis 13th cognac.
[http://www.google.com/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0CAcQjRxqFQoTCNLQuZm7j8YCFQg0iAodjY0AOQ&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.drinksdirect.co.uk%2Facatalog%2FRemy\_Martin\_Louis\_XIII.html&ei=sZh9VZK0LojooASNm4LIAw&bvm=bv.95515949,d.cGU&psig=AFQjCNF799c7emrxoNlCiZAbbK\_B4qzF4A&ust=1434380846048952](http://www.google.com/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0CAcQjRxqFQoTCNLQuZm7j8YCFQg0iAodjY0AOQ&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.drinksdirect.co.uk%2Facatalog%2FRemy_Martin_Louis_XIII.html&ei=sZh9VZK0LojooASNm4LIAw&bvm=bv.95515949,d.cGU&psig=AFQjCNF799c7emrxoNlCiZAbbK_B4qzF4A&ust=1434380846048952)
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### Author:  [@casdave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/casdave)
#### Post date: [June 14, 2015, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-expensive-food-in-the-grocery/722491/7 "2015-06-14T16:17:49Z")
How about Lambda Olive Oil
> **[The 15,000 dollar Olive Oil. Bad or Good Idea? - Olive Tomato](https://www.olivetomato.com/the-15000-dollar-olive-oil-bad-or-good-idea/)**
>
> In the past few weeks there have been stories going around about this Greek 15,000 dollar olive oil called…
This is not all that rare, you can get it - but expect to pay
There is also a tea that is fabulously expensive, we are talking in the order of $100k and more for a pound - but you are never going to get the opportunity to buy this much, even if you did have the money
[http://laorencha.com/2011/02/07/whats-that-da-hong-pao-大红袍-really/](http://laorencha.com/2011/02/07/whats-that-da-hong-pao-%E5%A4%A7%E7%BA%A2%E8%A2%8D-really/)
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### Author:  [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)
#### Post date: [June 14, 2015, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-expensive-food-in-the-grocery/722491/8 "2015-06-14T16:26:24Z")
At an Asian specialty supermarket in Seattle I’ve seen fresh wasabi root on sale for $99.99 per pound.
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### Author:  [@chacoguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chacoguy)
#### Post date: [June 14, 2015, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-expensive-food-in-the-grocery/722491/9 "2015-06-14T16:47:07Z")
Ink Jet Printer Ink.
(Not a food, but still.)
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### Author:  [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)
#### Post date: [June 15, 2015, 4:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-expensive-food-in-the-grocery/722491/10 "2015-06-15T04:40:46Z")
> [@grude](#):
>
> Inspired because the other day I was browsing in a small gourmet/import grocery and found some small can of black truffle shavings at nearly 100 USD per tiny can! I was surprised it was just on the shelf with everything else and not locked up.
>
> Most expensive thing I have ever seen for sale was the caviar in Central Market in downtown Houston, it was all locked away in a glass display case. The most expensive variety was an Iranian caviar at more than 1,000 USD an ounce!:eek:
>
> I’m wondering if there is anything that beats that.
Many years ago in Rochester (NY) they had an article about the most expensive meal in the city. It turned out to be a jar of caviar (I don’t recall what type) basically set out on a plate with various garnishes.
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### Author:  [@Jeff\_Lichtman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeff_Lichtman)
#### Post date: [June 15, 2015, 7:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-expensive-food-in-the-grocery/722491/11 "2015-06-15T07:24:00Z")
> [@Leaper](#):
>
> I’d be disinclined to count saffron or vanilla extract, though. I don’t think they’re technically “food”. Spice, foodstuff? Yes. But you generally do not eat either directly.
You could say the same thing about about the black truffle shavings mentioned by the OP. Truffles are used as flavoring in small amounts.
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### Author:  [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)
#### Post date: [June 15, 2015, 7:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-expensive-food-in-the-grocery/722491/12 "2015-06-15T07:47:42Z")
> [@Alessan](#):
>
> The liquor section of the mini-market across the street has a bottle of Johnny Walker Blue in a glass case. I assume that’s pretty expensive.
Depends on how old it is, but yeah, it’s pretty pricey. I bought a bottle of (I think) 10-year-old Blue Label for a co-worker on the occasion of her 21st birthday. She hated it and probably would have preferred peppermint Schnapps or Southern Comfort. She likes drinks that taste like candy. Kids.