World’s Most Expensive Cheese? The Blue That Broke the Bank

World’s Most Expensive Cheese? The Blue That Broke the Bank

Cabrales blue from northern Spain holds the bragging rights for being the priciest cheese on record—selling for €30,000 (about $32,400) at auction, which works out to roughly $6,682 per pound for its 2.2 kg wheel.

The sale happened at the long-running Cabrales Cheese Competition in Asturias, where bidding jumped from €3,000 as collectors and dairy insiders tried to claim the top-ranked wheel. Restaurateur Iván Suárez won the duel, citing regional pride and support for the cheesemakers as his reasons for going big. He also broke his own previous record after spending €20,500 on another Cabrales wheel a few years prior.

Cabrales itself is a PDO-certified blue, made in Asturias from raw cow’s milk or mixes with goat and sheep. It’s aged in limestone caves that give it its trademark punchy flavor and creamy-firm texture. Traditionally wrapped in sycamore leaves, it now hits the market in foil—but the cave flora are still very much part of the recipe.

The prize wheel came from Los Puertos, led by cheesemaker Guillermo Pendás, who aged it at 7°C (44.6°F) for at least eight months in a 1,400-meter-high cave above the tiny village of Póo de Cabrales—a place small enough that asking around counts as GPS.

Asturias packs serious dairy muscle, turning out 40+ artisanal cheeses (including four PDOs) in a region smaller than Connecticut. That record sale served as a neat reminder to the food world: provenance and craftsmanship still command top dollar—and occasionally, blue cheese can out-price champagne.

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