Priceonomics:

The rarity and temporality of truffles have made them — at €4,400 to €11,000 per pound for Italy’s prized white truffles — the most expensive food in the world. In 2007, a Macau casino owner set a record by paying $330,000 for a 3.3 pound truffle unearthed in Tuscany.

The combination of these two trends — the desire for a convenient, ever-ready supply of an ingredient and a hunger for the traditional, the rare, and “real food” — led to what would seem to be a remarkably successful scam on foodie culture: truffle oil.

While in Italy, I had truffle very sparingly sprinkled over pasta. Sublime.