What is the most expensive spice in the world? It’s hard to believe when we think that a lot of spices, which today seem normal and at hand, were once worth their weight in gold.
And this, given that many were very rare, coming from areas barely discovered by Europeans or very far from our continent. However, even today, 1 kilogram of the most precious spice can cost as much as 200 grams of gold
What is the most expensive spice in the world? 1 kilogram of it can cost as much as 200 grams of gold
Why are some spices more expensive than others? Partly because of the high cost of production and also because of the import cost. That being said, the overall cost of spices has decreased over time.
In Roman times, spices were a status symbol, consumed in large quantities by wealthy citizens. Cinnamon and pepper were in high demand, and spice traders traveled to Arabia and India to bring them back to Rome.
During the Middle Ages, spices were particularly expensive in Europe. They were used not only for cooking, but also for medicinal purposes and in religious ceremonies.
In 1602, the Dutch East India Company was established with the aim of bringing spices such as ginger, pepper, corn and turmeric from Asia to Europe.
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This period became the “Dutch Golden Age”, with the Netherlands becoming one of the richest countries in the world.
But let’s go through the ranking of the five most expensive spices in the world, according to the rankings made by luxurycolumnist.com and piccantino.com.
Saffron – Photo: luxurycolumnist.com
Top 5 most expensive spices in the world
1) Saffron – 3,000 – 15,000 dollars per kilogram
The spice saffron comes from the crocus flower (crocus sativus) and must be picked by hand.
The saffron crocus is a member of the Iridaceae family. This plant was originally from Asia Minor and the Mediterranean area and is mainly cultivated in southern France, Iran, Spain, Italy, Morocco and Greece today.
The reason the prices are so high is the huge harvesting costs. The saffron crocus blooms once a year, for just two weeks.
The pistils, of which each flower has three, must be carefully harvested by hand in the morning immediately after the flower opens, otherwise the precious aroma evaporates.
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In general, it takes 170,000 flowers to get about 0.5 kg of saffron. A kilogram of saffron costs, depending on its quality, between 3,000 and 15,000 euros.
2) Fennel pollen – 900 – 1000 dollars/kg
The second most expensive spice in the world is organic fennel pollen. Although fennel is not difficult to grow, the pollen must be collected by hand and has a very low yield of about one gram per harvest.
Most of the fennel pollen grown commercially comes from the Tuscany region of Italy.
You can actually grow your own fennel and shake the yellow flowers inside a ziplock bag if you’re patient.
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Fennel pollen has a very distinctive taste with notes of anise, citrus, licorice, pepper and saffron. It is popular with some of the best chefs in the world.
3) Vanilla – 400 dollars/kg
There are a few reasons why vanilla is expensive. 80% of the world’s vanilla production comes from Madagascar, an island that is sometimes hit by storms that affect crops.
In the 1980s, consumers mainly bought cheap synthetic vanilla, so some vanilla growers stopped producing it.
Another reason for the high price of vanilla is due to theft. People steal vanilla beans and because of this, some farmers pick them before they are ripe, which lowers the quality.
Additionally, vanilla vines take two to four years to reach maturity. Generally, vanilla flowers bloom only one day a year and must be pollinated on that day to produce vanilla beans.
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Vanilla pods that contain small seeds are the real ones, while vanilla essence is an artificial variety.
4. Mahlab – 150 dollars/kg
Sometimes written as mahleb, mahalepi or mayleb, this spice is the kernel of the seeds of a species of cherry (St Lucie’s Cherry).
The reason why mahlab is so expensive is because it is a very long process to crack the cherry pits.
The seed kernels are then dried before being sold whole or ground. If you can, buy whole mahlab, as it retains its flavor much longer than ground mahlab.
You can then grind it with either a mortar or a pepper mill.
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This spice is widely used in Greek and Middle Eastern cuisine, giving a wonderful taste, especially to cakes.
However, mahlab is not that well known in the rest of Europe and the United States.
5) Long pepper – 100 dollars/kg
Also known as pipli, long pepper (or long pepper) is the fruit of a flowering vine plant.
With a distinctive conical appearance, this expensive spice used to be popular in African, Indonesian, Indian and Mediterranean cuisine.
During the first siege of Rome, a ransom of long pepper, gold and silver was paid to Alaric I, King of the Visigoths, to lift the siege.
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Because of its high price in the West, long pepper is now much harder to find than regular black pepper.
However, this unique spice has a spicy-earthy taste that can be used in spicy rasam soup, lentil curries and marinades. Long pepper is combined with herbs in Ayurvedic medicine.
