Eight of the World’s expensive foods(No.4)

4. White Truffle

Found in the Piedmont region of Northern Italy, highly esteemed white truffles will only grow amongst the roots of certain trees, are much scarcer than any other type of truffle, and have a particularly intense flavour and aroma.

They can’t be cultivated or grown – although folk have tried for generations to farm the truffles, they can still only be sourced in the wild. It is this unpredictability, along with the lengths people go to to locate and harvest them, which results in their hefty price tag.

The record sum paid for a single white truffle was by Macau casino owner Stanley Ho in 2007. He splashed out $330,000 (£165,000) for one of the largest truffles uncovered in decades – weighing 1.5 kg. A pretty extraordinary price for a pungent underground