In the wide universe of niche world records and foods so extravagant they border on performance art, a new champion emerges: a five-pound wheel of Spanish Cabrales cheese that recently sold at auction for an eye-watering $42,232. Yes, that’s over $8,000 per pound, and, yes, the math is correct (I triple-checked, just in case the cheese had gotten to my head).
The World’s Most Expensive Cheese: The Details
As chronicled by UPI, this particular wheel of Cabrales owes its record-busting price to a variety of factors—some expected, others bordering on mythic. Originating from the Ángel Díaz Herrero factory in Spain’s Asturias region, it won the title “Mejor Queso del Certamen” (“Best Cheese of the Competition”) after being evaluated by the Regulatory Council DOP Cabrales, the official cheese arbiters of the region.
Cabrales, for those new to the blue cheese underground, is known not just for its sharp flavor but for its rather dramatic maturation process. This wheel spent 10 months aging in the Los Mazos cave, a location nestled nearly 5,000 feet above sea level—a microclimate that likely contributes more than a touch of personality to the final product. UPI further notes that the cheese, made purely from cow’s milk, ultimately landed in the hands of the restaurant El Llagar de Colloto, who now possess what Guinness World Records affirmed as the most expensive cheese ever to cross an auction block.
Earlier in the report, it’s mentioned that auctions aren’t exactly the neighborhood standard for cheese shopping—unless your cheese counter is also your personal Sotheby’s—but setting records rarely goes hand-in-hand with the everyday.
What, Exactly, Makes Cheese Worth More Than a Honda?
The calculus behind a five-figure block of cheese is, unsurprisingly, not purely gustatory. Prestige, provenance, and a uniquely cave-aged backstory do most of the heavy lifting. The outlet highlights details such as the specific milk source and altitude-centric aging process, suggesting that a confluence of circumstance, geography, and tradition bestows this Cabrales with qualities difficult to replicate—or price rationally.
One has to wonder, does a $42,000 Cabrales deliver a tasting experience commensurate with its price tag, or is the primary pleasure found in the story you get to tell after acquiring it? For buyers like the restaurateur in Asturias, the record becomes less about consumption and more about culinary folklore, a perpetual badge of distinction (and, presumably, an excellent conversation starter).
A New Addition to the Museum of Improbable Luxuries
It’s safe to assume this Cabrales isn’t destined for a supermarket shelf or your next backyard picnic. The luxury dairy circuit exists in a slightly surreal universe, alongside diamond-encrusted desserts and record-breaking egg cup collections. As UPI documents elsewhere, the news cycle is rife with records set and broken for everything from the largest herd of inflatable dinosaur racers to enterprising wildlife; yet somehow, world-class cheese always finds a dramatic way to upstage even marauding bears.
Reflecting on the sale, it raises a simple, tactile question: Will the world’s most expensive cheese be tasted at all, or simply admired? Will guests at El Llagar de Colloto gather to sample its legendary flavors, or will the wheel become a culinary relic, waiting for a carefully curated unveiling?
In any case, humanity seems perpetually drawn to transforming the everyday into the extraordinary—especially when caves, cows, and a touch of competition are involved. So, if offered a taste of such cheese, would you take a bite… or just snap a photo to prove it exists?
