Today the world's three most expensive spices are Saffron, Vanilla and Mahlab. Originating from a flower called Crocus Sativus, the high price of saffron comes from the laborious harvest work of picking the stigmas delicately by hand to prevent damage and leaving them to dry.
The world's second most expensive spice is vanilla.
Of course, it's price doesn't compare to the outlandish cost of saffron but vanilla will set you back a few dollars. The price of this fragrant spice depends on where it was cultivated and how it is sold (extract, whole bean or seeds).
This was determined by studying the ingredients of the national dishes of said countries, and with that data, they created a fascinating infographic. The infographic above shows that, surprisingly, cumin is the most popular spice in the world, and coriander (or cilantro) is the most commonly used herb.
Chiles: Chiles are fruits whose seeds are protected by the pungent, burning chemical capsaicin. They're the most popular spice worldwide, with a consumption rate 20 times greater than that of the second most popular spice, black pepper.
Black pepper is known as ''King of Spices''. Black pepper is produced from the still-green, unripe drupes of the pepper plant.
Yubari melon is one of the most expensive fruits in the world. It's grown in Japan and can cost up to INR 20 lakhs a kilogram. The fruit has a texture that's similar to watermelon, but it has a sweet, tangy flavor.
Black Peppercorns, Piper nigrum, are also called peppercorn black, whole black peppercorns, or best black peppercorns.
Seven-spices is the most well-known and utilized spice blend in Lebanon. An aromatic combination of allspice, black pepper, cinnamon, ground cloves, cumin, ground coriander, and white pepper.
This spice mix contains star anise, pepper, black pepper, galangal, clove, nutmeg, white peony, Amomum villosum, orange peel, licorice and other spices in varying quantities.
Saffron (Crocus sativa) is a spice that is worth more than its weight in gold. Over the past three decades there has been renewed global interest in saffron cultivation for use in cosmetics, the food industry and for its health benefits, which is why this spice has been coined “Red Gold”.
1. Stevia rebaudiana (aka Stevia) is a plant. The sweetness is contained in the leaves and the active compound, steviol, has up to 150 times the sweetness of sugar. 2.
The most sold spice in the world is black pepper. It is one of the oldest known spices. Black pepper is the most sold spice in the world.
But vanilla has now been crowned the world's favourite smell by a team of international experts. Scientists from the University of Oxford and the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm presented 10 scents to 235 people from nine different cultures around the world.
There is no other spice as peculiar as the queen of all spices; cardamom.
Hailed as the 'Queen of Spices,' cardamom is one of the most expensive spices on the planet.
Ancient Times
In fact, black pepper was so coveted in the Ancient World that it was known by merchants as “black gold”. The global popularity of pepper followed the rise of the Roman Empire. The Romans brought pepper from the East to the western shores of continental Europe to use as an exotic, if expensive, spice.
Cinnamon is an ancient spice that predates the recorded history of culinary applications of all spices. As such, it has been dubbed the “world's oldest spice”, which may be a warranted title, knowing that because it was found to be included in Egyptian embalming recipes.
1. Thailand. Thailand is undoubtedly synonymous with spicy food and is considered one of the most popular tourist destinations. You can find many fried foods and spicy soups in its street food.
Our Carolina Reaper Powder is the hottest spice in the world! On the Scoville Heat Scale, the Carolina Reaper pepper has an average Scoville Heat Unit (SHU) rating of 1,641,000 with some individual peppers topping out at an incredible 2,200,000 SHU.