You must have tried special food but do you know how they became special? That's the magic of special and authentic ingredients around the world. Everyone is aware of saffron as one of the expensive and exotic food ingredients but you probably don’t know about these luxurious food ingredients:
White truffle: Sorry, they are not chocolates! But white truffle is a fragrant fungus, known as the diamond of the kitchen. It is yellow, brown and a little pale in shade. Truffles grow some inches down in the earth, with the roots of hardwood trees, such as oak, hazelnut, chestnut and hornbeam. One of its specialities is that they are detected by specially trained dogs through the earth. They are associated with northern Italy and found in eastern Europe.
They seem like lumpy potatoes and most of their taste lies in their aroma. White truffles can not be cooked; they are consumed raw, sprinkled, grated over scrambled eggs and plain risotto.
Oyster: This food has no connection with Indian Cuisine and these bivalves are usually eaten raw. They are saltwater bivalve molluscs. Nowadays, most of the oysters are specially farmed all over the world and can be found in the south side of India. They are healthy to consume as they provide vitamin D, calcium and magnesium. They can easily be slurped down from your throat if you are a beginner, they are eaten raw, fresh and direct from the shell. Some of the oysters can also be consumed cooked.
Caviar: Caviar, originally from Persia, is a food salt-cured fully riped little egg of fish such as salmon, white head fish, steelhead, trout and carp. Most of the caviar is now farmed in countries like China and Uruguay because of the decline in the world sturgeon population. The less common and most expensive caviar is from Beluga sturgeon that swim in the Caspian Sea and is bred in Iran Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan. It is garnished and eaten traditionally. It is generally served with toast and crackers, some fresh cream, chopped herbs and onion will also taste amazing. Caviar can also be enjoyed with boiled eggs.
Foie gras: Foie gras is a popular French cuisine, which is one of the special foods which is made from the goose’s or duck’s liver. It tastes delicate, rich and buttery. They are consumed with mustard sauce, green beans and paired with soft white wine. Foie gras production involves force-feeding. Fully cooked foie gras are kept in glass to preserve them for a longer period of time. It is rich in calories, protein and vitamin B12.
Vanilla: Vanilla is extracted from the vanilla orchid which is native to Mexico. The orchid vanilla looks like a vine plant and climbs up a tree, they are one of the expensive food items because the rare flower only blooms for some hours in a year and do not provide any time for pollination. Later on, these pods are fermented for 2 years before their fragrance and flavour are released and the whole process is done manually which also adds up to its high cost. Nowadays, vanilla flavour is so common which can be found in biscuits, cakes, ice creams and chocolates.
