For all of you “fromage” lovers out there, we have a treat – a list of 11 most expensive cheeses in the world. Now, the most expensive doesn’t equal the tastiest for everyone. Some of the cheeses on our list will make some people water their mouths, while other will be disgusted by them, but after all, in matters of taste, there can be no disputes.
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Cheese is one of oldest dairy food in the world. It is also one of the most popular ones, as almost every culture makes some kind of cheese. The first cheese was probably created by accident, when someone forgot a bowl of milk and came back later only to find strange, but tasty mass has formed. From that first bowl we now have hundreds of types of cheese produced worldwide. French and Italian cheeses are among the most popular ones and we have few of them on the list.
Some of the cheeses have very peculiar methods of production. For instance, Roquefort, one of the best-selling cheeses in the world, is made in caves near French town Roquefort-sur-Soulzon, which gave it its name. The most important ingredient of Roquefort is green mold, clearly visible on the cheese and responsible for its distinctive taste and smell. Others, like Pont-l’Évêque are left to ripen for up to 6 weeks before being declared ready for sale. Then there is Casu Marzu, one of the cheeses from our list of the most expensive ones. Casu Marzu contains worms and is considered an absolute delicacy in Sardinia, where it comes from. Even the most hardcore cheese lovers have been known to balk when offered a slice of bread with Casu Marzu spread on top of it.
If you are looking to find out about other dairy products, we recommend the list of countries that consume the most yoghurt, but not before you read through our list of 11 most expensive cheeses in the world.
11. Cacio Bufala
Price: $40 per pound
We start the list with Cacio Bufala, a buffalo cheese made in Italy. Since buffalo milk has twice the fat compared to cow milk, it makes for a very creamy and tasty cheese.
10. Epoisses by Germain
Price: $45 per pound
If you can get past the smell, Epoisses by Germain is one of the tastiest cheeses in the world. Epoisses is made with added grape brandy from the nearby French vineyards.
9. Jersey Blue
Price: $45 per pound
Made from the milk of Jersey cows, which has unusually high content of butterfat, Jersey Blue is very creamy and very tasty.
8. Caciocavallo Podolico
Price: $50 per pound
Despite its name (Caciocavallo means horse cheese in Italian), this cheese isn’t made from horses, but from a special and very rare breed of cows called Podolico.
7. Old Ford
Price: $50 per pound
The only goat cheese on our list, Old Ford is mostly made by hand and unlike most of goat cheeses, it is left to mature.
6. Casu Marzu
Price: $100 per pound
Casu Marzu’s legal status is somewhat unclear, since the production has been declared unsanitary. Who knew adding worms to a wheel of cheese can have adverse consequences on human health?
5. Extra Old Bitto
Price: $150 per pound
The number 5 on our list of the most expensive cheeses in the world is Extra Old Bitto, a Chinese cheese. It is expensive due to the fact that it takes 10 years for it to mature.
4. Wyke Farms Cheddar
Price: $200 per pound
Cheddar is one of the most popular type of cheese in the world. Wyke Farms Cheddar has some special ingredients in it, like gold leaves and truffles, which explains the price.
3. Moose Cheese
Price: $455 per pound
The Swedish specialty, moose cheese, is made in Bjursholm. It’s high price is partly due to the fact that only 600 pound of it are made annually and partly due to people’s reluctance to work as moose milk maids. Apparently, they don’t take kindly to being milked.
2. Pule
Price: $600 per pound
When it was first created, it was the most expensive cheese in the world. Today, due to low demand, it’s price have dropped to mere $600 per pound, which isn’t much considering that it is made from milk of a donkey and only made in Special Nature Preserve Zasavica in Serbia. It takes 25 liters (6.6 gallons) of milk to make one kilogram of cheese (2.2 pounds)
1. Stilton Cheese AKA Gold Cheese
Price: $2064 per pound
Created as Christmas special Stilton Gold cheese proved so popular among celebrities and other rich people that is now in serial production. Made from real gold flakes, Stilton Cheese AKA Gold Cheese is the most expensive cheese in the world.
