Using real cheeses and real prices, we’ve put together the ultimate list of most expensive cheeses in the world. Read on to discover them, from the spectacular to the downright outrageous. Be sure to read to the end to find out what cheese is number 1 on our list!
Our method
To make this a fair comparison, we will be looking at each cheese’s price on their local market. Hence, we negate the impact of import taxes. Moreover, we will only consider a maximum of 2 cheeses from any given country.
Also, if you’ve ever wondered why cheese can be so expensive, there’s a great article here that you can read.
Without further ado, let’s delve into our countdown of the world’s most expensive cheeses.
13. Grey Owl
US$32 per pound
Our first entry on the list comes from Québec, Canada. Grey Owl is a surface-ripened goat’s milk cheese by Fromagerie Le Detour in Notre-Dame-du-Lac. Vegetal ash creates Grey Owl’s wrinkly, slate-coloured edible rind. Underneath the rind, you will find a firm snow white pâte that softens near the edge.
As it melts in your mouth, the smooth and silky texture of the cheese offers pleasing savoury and lemony flavours.
12. Caciocavallo Podolico
US$36 per pound
Next, we find Italy’s first entry, Caciocavallo Podolico. Although its nickname is “Horse Cheese”, this pasta filata cheese is actually made using the milk of a rare Italian cow breed called Podolica.
In the summer months, the farmers move their herds to the mountains to feast on strawberries, blueberries and cherries. As a result of this diet, the milk and cheese develop an elegant, fruity flavour.
11. Trou du Cru
US$38 per pound
At number 11, we find France’s first entry. Also, weighing in at 2 oz (60 grams), Trou du Cru is by far the smallest cheese on our list. During its maturation period, an affineur washes this tiny cheese with Marc de Bourgogne, resulting in its sticky rind. Moreover, they mature the cheese on straw to prevent it from sticking to a flat surface.
Surprisingly, the cheese’s flavour is much milder than its aroma. On the palate, you can expect savoury and floral notes with a straw-like, boozy quality.
10. Bitto Storico
US$39 per pound
We’re in Italy again to find the oldest cheese on our list, Bitto Storico. Can you believe that the maker matures select wheels of this cow and goat milk cheese for up to 18 years?!
Farmers make their cheese right on the side of the mountain pastures at an altitude from 1400 to 2000 metres. To this day, the cheese makers still use caléccs (ancient stone constructions), setup a makeshift tent for protection and start a wood fire.
After making the cheese, they mature each wheel for a minimum of 70 days. Most private owners open their wheel after about five years and restaurants at 10 years.
9. Comté 40 months
US$42 per pound
Coming in at a smidge over $42/lb, this extra mature Comté by Fromageries Arnaud is France’s most expensive cheese. When you consider that these wheels age for over 40 months, the price tag is not that surprising. During the maturation, the affineur turns and brushes each cheese regularly.
At 4 years, this Comté is fruity and sweet, with a very crumbly texture. As a result, the locals enjoy it as a bonbon (hard candy).
8. Winnimere
US$48 per pound
Winnimere is an American seasonal raw milk soft washed rind cheese made in Vermont, by Jasper Hills Farm. During the winter months, they feed their Ayrshire cows hay to produce a rich, flavoursome milk, which is perfect for cheesemaking.
During Winnimere’s maturation, they regularly wash the cheese in a cultured salt brine to help even rind development. At 60 days, the rind develops a pink hue and the pâte becomes soft and spoonable with tastes of bacon, mushroom, sweet cream and spruce.
7. La Luna
US$55 per pound
La Luna is a soft goat’s milk cheese made by Holy Goat Cheese on their farm in Sutton Grange, Victoria. A small and pampered herd of some 120 Saanen and British Alpine goats call the farm home. The goats are free to roam and feed on a variety of local grasses and shrubs.
Carla and Anne-Marie hand-milk 80 of their goats. They drew the inspiration for their signature cheese, La Luna, from the matured goat’s milk cheeses of Provence. The cheese is famous for its gorgeous wrinkly Geotrichum rind.
6. Rogue River Blue
US$56 per pound
Rogue River Blue is a seasonal cheese made by Rogue Creamery in Oregon, USA. This truly original blue cheese was the first American cheese to be named World Champion Cheese at the World Cheese Awards in Italy in October 2019.
David Gremmels selects their best blue cheese wheels and wraps them in spring-harvested Syrah grape leaves that have been soaked in pear brandy. Rogue River Blue’s texture is fudgy and rich and the aroma is reminiscent of pear eau-de-vie.
Be prepared for an explosion of flavour which ranges from pear brandy to truffle with notes of toffee, blackberry, vanilla, hazelnut, chocolate and bacon. And, yes, it is America’s most expensive cheese.
5. Yarrawa
US$59 per pound
Yarrawa by Pecora Dairy was Australia’s first raw sheep’s milk cheese. It is named after the indigenous word for Robertson’s unique cool climate rainforest. Eight years in the making, Yarrawa is in a league of its own and has earned its mantle as Australia’s most expensive cheese.
Undoubtedly, this exceptional cheese smells and tastes of the region where it comes from, and the farm where it is made. If you’re looking for a comparison to European cheeses, you will be hard pressed to find one. Because this is a uniquely Australian cheese.
4. White Stilton Gold
US$355 per pound
We’re almost on the podium and things are getting a bit crazy now. Meet Long Clawson Dairy’s limited edition White Stilton Gold. At $355/lb, it is by far the most expensive cheese to ever come out of the UK.
The English company created this absurdity in 2011 and it is essentially a White Stilton that is covered in gold flakes and soaked in gold liqueur. White Stilton Gold is creamy and tangy and, to be honest, tastes very similar to the more standard White Stilton.
3. Älgost (Moose Cheese)
US$500 per pound
Before we talk about this cheese, let’s do a quick tally. We’ve had cheeses made with cow’s, goat’s and sheep’s milk so far. For our 3rd most expensive cheese in the world, we’ve got a cheese made with… MOOSE milk!!!
Yes, that right. The Elk House in Bjurholm, Sweden, makes and sells moose cheese. And it is one of the most expensive cheeses in the world due to its rarity. Moose are extremely difficult to milk because they need to be handled tenderly and feel comfortable. If they feel stressed or become startled while you’re milking them, their milk will dry up.
2. Pule
US$600 per pound
At number two, we find the cheese that incorrectly tops almost every list on the internet, Pule. Serbian cheesemakers at Zasavica Special Nature Reserve exclusively make this rare cheese using the milk of Balkan donkeys mixed with goat’s milk.
At the reserve, they milk their donkeys three times a day to help gather the amount of milk needed to make Pule cheese. On average, it takes about 6.6 gallons of donkey milk to produce 2.2 pounds of Pule cheese.
Overall, Pule cheese has a rich and complex flavour with a crumbly texture. The cheese is smoked during the production process to gives it its unique flavour.
1 Queso Cabrales
US$2790 per pound
Yes, you read that right! In 2019, Ivan Suarez, owner of restaurant Llagar de Colloto in Spain, paid $16,142.41 for a 5.78 lb wheel of artisan Queso Cabrales. This set a world record that has not since been broken. Queso Cabrales is a strong blue cheese made by the Valfriu cheese factory in the Asturias, northern Spain.
Cabrales cheese wheels mature inside the caves of the Picos de Europa mountain range in Spain. On average, they spend between three to six months in the caves with shepherds rubbing and turning the cheese to help along the maturating process.
While the quality of this cheese is undeniable, the price paid seems extremely excessive!
Real cheeses, and real prices
Well done! You’ve made it to the end of our list. Chances are that this is not the first list of “most expensive cheeses” that you’ve read. And you’ve probably found they include cheeses like Jersey Blue, Epoisses and Wyke Farm Cheddar.
On almost every single one of them, the prices are either incorrect or the cheeses don’t even exist. Our list was compiled using actually prices as advertised by the cheese maker for their local market. What do you think about our list? Drop us a comment below.
Jonah is a a hipster, eco-warrior and slow food afficionado. Coming from a scientific background, Jonah has a particular interest in cheese science. And yes, he loves a good cheese pun!
