Truffles

Truffles - the non-chocolate kind, sorry - are edible fungi, like mushrooms. Unlike mushrooms, they grow underground near tree roots and the best truffles are wildly, insanely, expensive, sometimes as much as thousands of dollars per pound. Truffles are costly because they're hard to find, frustrating to grow, and impossible to store for any length of time. They generally range from strawberry- to apple-sized, though larger ones have been discovered. Though multiple species are found worldwide, prestige truffles come from specific areas, much like wine from celebrated regions of Europe and California. Black truffles from France and white truffles from Italy are the two most highly valued. Even though they resemble evil spores from a 1960s Outer Limits episode, truffles are prized delicacies in gastronomy, the art of cooking and eating good food.