Most Expensive Mushrooms in the World
Oyster Mushrooms As the third most cultivated mushroom in the world, oyster mushrooms represent a significant portion of the world’s edible mushroom market.
Beech Mushrooms The beech mushroom (Hypsizygus tessellatus), while native to temperate regions of East Asia, is becoming more widely cultivated and sold across temperate regions of Europe, Australia, and North America.
Lion’s Mane Mushrooms Growing in popularity around the world for their culinary and medicinal uses, lion’s mane mushrooms (Hericium erinaceus) are currently available fresh in US retail markets for about $14-16 per pound.
Shiitake Mushrooms This mushroom is highly favored for its meaty, buttery texture, and delightfully nutty, smoky flavor. Currently, the average price of fresh shiitake mushrooms in the US is about $15-20.
Chanterelle Mushrooms A favorite among foragers for their sweet, fruity, and nutty flavors, the chanterelle genus contains many choice, edible mushrooms. Currently, in the US, these mushrooms sell fresh in retail markets for about $30-40 per pound.
Morel Mushrooms Found across temperate regions of North America, Central America, Europe, and Asia, morel mushrooms (Morchella spp.) are a favorite among many foragers who prize this genus of mushrooms for their meaty texture, and earthy, nutty flavors.
Porcini Mushrooms Porcini mushrooms, also known as king boletes (Boletus edulis), are a species in the bolete family that are loved for their meaty texture and rich, earthy flavor. Currently, these mushrooms are sold in retail markets in the US for about $40-70 per pound.
French Black Truffles Of course, it likely comes as no surprise that the mushroom to take the number three spot on our list of the 10 most expensive mushrooms in the world is the black truffle. Specifically, we’re talking about the French black truffle (Tuber melanosporum).
Alba White Truffles Now, while the black truffle sells for an exorbitant amount of money, the price of white truffles can reach about four times that amount. This truffle, found growing primarily in the Alba township of Italy, currently sells in the US retail market for about $4,000 per pound.
The Caterpillar Fungus Alright, if the price of the previous mushroom made your jaw drop, you might want to sit down as the cost of our final mushroom is simply staggering. The caterpillar fungus (Cordyceps sinensis) is a parasitic cordyceps mushroom that grows out of dead Tibetan caterpillars (Hepilus fabricius).