The 2006 Alba Quercus Reserve, produced by 44-year-old Spaniard Manuel Maldonado, costing about $2,100 per leg, or a cruel $160 per pound, is believed to be the most expensive ham in the world. The salt-cured ham won't be available until late 2008 and customers must buy the whole ham or nothing at all. Wanna know why these hams are so expensive, make sure to read the full AP report World's Costliest Ham Triggers Pork Envy
Indonesia kopi luwak is a rare kind of coffee that apparently goes for $30/cup in some fancy Hong Kong hotels. The secret to its reportedly fine flavor is that the beans are collected, swallowed, and crapped back out by wild civets, small, arboreal mammals that are currently endangered.
“Kopi” the Indonesian word for coffee along with “luwak” is local name of this animal which eats the raw red coffee beans. The civet digests the soft outer part of the coffee cherry, but does not digest the inner beans and excretes them.
Apparently the internal digestion ends up adds a unique flavor to the beans, removing the bitter flavor, and then beans are then picked up by locals and sold. The most expensive coffee beans can cost up to $600 a pound, and up to $50 per cup, if you can get over the fact that you are drinking such a strange brew.
In the animals' stomachs, enzymes in the gastric juices massage the beans, smoothing off the harsh edges that make coffee bitter and produce caffeine jitters. Humans then separate the greenish-brown beans from the rest of the dung, and once a thin outer layer is removed, they are ready for roasting....
Days before the devastating 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami struck, Marcone was in Indonesia's Sumatran rain forest, where he collected about 10 pounds of civet droppings laced with coffee beans. He now uses it as "the gold standard" to rate other kopi luwaks in his lab at the University of Guelph in Ontario.
Like a forensic scientist reading a bullet's markings, Marcone stares at kopi luwak under an electron microscope, searching for striations that tell him that a civet excreted it. His studies found that kopi luwak drinkers need to be careful to avoid being duped.
"About 42% of all the kopi luwaks that are presently on sale are either adulterated or complete fakes, unfortunately," he said.
Real kopi luwak has a top note of rich, dark chocolate, with secondary notes that are musty and earthy, the scientist said. An Indonesian coffee lover described the scent as the smell of moist earth after a rainfall, with hints of vanilla, that teases the palate for hours after the cup is empty.
Naturally sweet and intoxicatingly delicious, berries also pack a punch with a myriad of health benefits. The enticing red, purple, and blue skins of berries contain bioflavonoids such as anthocyanins.
These compounds are beneficial because they are antioxidants, which reduce free radical damage. The antioxidant content of berries is more potent than vitamins C and E. The anthocyanin in berries also helps to reduce inflammation - more effectively even than aspirin!
The blueberry wins extra points for being the berry with one of the highest level of antioxidants. Blueberries have neuroprotective properties that shield brain cells from damage caused by trauma, chemicals, and plaque; in other words, blueberries help slow down the age-related onset of memory loss, Alzheimer's, and senility.
In fact, research has found that rats bred to develop Alzheimer's do not develop the symptoms of the disease if blueberries are incorporated into their diet.
Cherries also contain these beneficial anthocyanin compounds, which stimulate your pancreas to produce insulin; for hundreds of years Chinese researchers have observed that cherries help keep diabetics healthy.
These compounds also protect you against cancer, arthritis, and heart disease because they lower cholesterol. So I recommend that you eat lots of cherries and other dark-colored fruits to maintain balanced blood sugar and enjoy a healthy long life!
Go for Goji Berries, "the Superfruit"
While we are on the subject of berries, let's talk about a well-known member of the traditional Chinese herbalist's arsenal of herbs for thousands of years: goji berries. Also known as lycium berry and wolfberry, this fruit native to China has long been known for its tonic effects, especially on vision, hormonal system and the brain.
Goji berry contains polysaccharides, which stimulate the immune system and signal the pituitary to secrete human growth hormone. Goji also has the highest concentration of carotenoids, especially beta-carotene, of any plant in the world, making it a powerful antioxidant.
The berry is traditionally used together with other Chinese tonic herbs to increase sexual potency and fertility. Rich in linoleic acid (precursor to GLA), riboflavin, selenium, calcium, vitamins B and C, zinc, and other trace minerals, these berries are safe to use and have been used for thousands of years in Asia.
Caviars are no doubt costly, but ALMAS, the Russian for diamond, costs $23,308.
This caviar is extracted from the Beluga fish. The reason for the caviar being costly is the rarity of Beluga. This fish, which is also the largest sturgeon and the only predator in the family, is highly prized because granules or coarse texture and its tender skin. The beluga caviars are costly because of large, compact grains, fine color, and flavor.
It takes many efforts to make the ALMAS caviar. The caviar is extracted from a manual processing. The fish is placed on a coarse mesh place across wooden tub. The roe bags or sacs containing beluga’s eggs are removed. The roes are passed thought the mesh, to grade the eggs and to separate the eggs from the binding tissue. Care is taken while rubbing the roes across the mesh as there are chances of the fish to die during the process leading to a bitter and low-grade caviar.he there are chances of the fish to die hand for optimum control. The process also separates the eggs from binding tissue
If you believe on the saying “old is gold”, then this 100 years old fish is going to fetch 24k gold tin, in which it is packed. Hey, you can get back half the price you paid for the caviar by selling the gold tin. Anyways, this white caviar with an exotic flavor and a buttery texture is captured from Caspian Sea.
The language of caviar
In contrast, the square-shaped watermelons from Brazil sold in UK, is quite cheap with a price tag of only £5.An employee of an agricultural cooperative prepares square-shaped watermelons for shipment in Zentsuji, western Japan June 25, 2007. The cooperative will ship about 800 of the watermelons through mid-July with each priced from 17,000 yen ($137) to 25,000 yen ($202), local media reported.
The cube-shaped watermelon, with the five 2008 Beijing Olympics mascots Fuwa emblazoned on its five sides is sold at a supermarket in Xuchang, central China's Henan province. The eye-catching watermelons have been produced using steel molds. The price tag of 398 yuan (US$52) each is definitely too expensive to most Chinese citizens. Source: Tjdaily
Two more pictures from Gznet. 
Those weird potatoes were grown at 3,950-meter-above-sea-level Andes by farmers in Huancavelica, southern Peru. They also have weird names like "best black woman," "best red woman," "makes the daughter-in-law cry," "like a deer's white tongue," "red shadow" and "like an old bone". Ou, I didn't anticipate that the potato can have so many varieties. Link
With changes in how we cook and eat the fields of culinary arts and culinary science appear now to be merging into one. Many famous restaurant now have cooking and food laboratories on their premises, while universities and colleges around the country are beginning to offer degrees in culinology ( a degree program that blends food science and technology with culinary art).
Interest in food science has grown in recent years because of the increasing awareness of the vital role of food in the health, well-being, and economic status of individuals and nations and people's curiosity and desire to try new and innovative food dishes. Food science is the study of the chemical composition of food and food ingredients; their physical, biological and biochemical properties and and the interaction of food constituents with each other and their environment.
What is Molecular Gastronomy?
Molecular Gastronomy is the application of scientific principles to the understanding and improvement of small scale food preparation. The term was invented by the Hungarian physicist Nicholas Kurti in a 1969 presentation to the Royal Institution called "The Physicist in the kitchen", and popularized by his collaborator the French scientist Hervé This.
Heston Blumenthal, 38, is presently at the forefront of this radical style of cooking (molecular gastronomy). His triple Michelin starred restaurant The Fat Duck serves dishes like sardine-flavored sorbet, pasta made out of Jello, snail porridge, or a puree of mango and Douglas fir. At El Bulli, the restaurant of Ferran Adria in Spain another molecular gastronomist dishes consist of monkfish liver with tomato seeds and citrus or barnacles with tea foam, or a parmesan cheese ice cream. During the six months his restaurant is closed, Adrià works on new recipes in a laboratory near the Barcelona market.
At restaurant Arzak in San Sebastian, Juan Mari Arzak and his daughter Elena experiment with their chefs on a daily basis. Upstairs from the restaurant you will find a small food laboratory with pH meters, sonicators and liquid nitrogen.
| | EGG AND TRUFFLE FLOWER IN GOOSE FAT WITH CHISTORRA (chorizo sausage) OF DATES From restaurante Arzak
"Everyday we experiment and investigate with the flavours, textures and elaboration's processes." Besides the investigation's kitchen there is a "Flavour Bank", that contains more than 1000 products and ingredients we use to their investigations and for the new creations -- -- Juan Mari Arzak |
Pino Maffeo of Boston's Restaurant L uses liquid nitrogen, emulsifiers and an arsenal of equipment typically found in scientific laboratories, Maffeo creates what he calls "one-bite wonders." "If science can make my cuisine better, then I'll use it," he said, while putting ravioli made from mango and dry cured ham on skewers alongside aloe vera and muscato grape juice gelatin cubes.
To create unusual and original recipes -- such as pairing fried calamari with watermelon and cantaloupe -- Maffeo analyzes the molecular make-up of the ingredients with an infrared spectrometer nuclear magnetic resonance machine, equipment usually used by synthetic chemists and physicists. He believes foods with similar composition pair well together. He meets weekly to discuss projects with Angela Buffone, a visiting professor of organic chemistry at Suffolk University and partner in Maffeo's culinary experiments. For his signature dish, seared foie gras with a 24 carat golden egg, MDDWO uses liquid nitrogen to flash freeze an airy meringue that has been dipped in lightly whipped cream to create a texture resembling an egg shell. Then using a syringe he injects mango sauce into shell. See full text article by Mark Wilson
Experimental Chefs and restaurants
The Golden Opulence Sundae, the "World's most expensive sundae" for "only" 1000$ was created to celebrate Serendipity's (New York) 50th Anniversay last year.
Made with "5 scoops of the richest Tahitian vanilla bean ice cream infused with Madagascar vanilla and covered in 23K edible gold leaf, the sundae is drizzled with the world's most expensive chocolate, Amedei Porceleana, and covered with chunks of rare Chuao chocolate, which is from cocoa beans harvested by the Caribbean Sea on Venezuela's coast. The masterpiece is suffused with exotic candied fruits from Paris, gold dragets, truffles and Marzipan Cherries. It is topped with a tiny glass bowl of Grand Passion Caviar, an exclusive dessert caviar, made of salt-free American Golden caviar, known for its sparkling golden color. It's sweetened and infused with fresh passion fruit, orange and Armagnac. The sundae is served in a baccarat Harcourt crystal goblet with an 18K gold spoon to partake in the indulgenceserved with a petite mother of pearl spoon and topped with a gilded sugar flower by Ron Ben-Israel."
