Expensive foods that are worth every penny...what do you indulge in?

[TooPatient]

$55 for .25lb. Way to much for my budget but would love to try it.

Cheddar Vintage 1997 25 Years Old

Cheddar Vintage 1997 Quarter Pound 23 Years Old Do you seek the exceptional? This 20 Year Old Cheddar isn't just cheese - it's a work of art. This limited edition cheese is not to be missed. It's smooth, sharp, and bursting with flavor. Spread throughout

www.wisconsincheesemart.com

That looks amazing! A bit more $$ than I can justify on cheese, but now I am browsing the rest of their offerings

 

[Karl_K]

That looks amazing! A bit more $$ than I can justify on cheese, but now I am browsing the rest of their offerings

I have had this:

15 Year Old Ludicrous Sharp Cheddar

All of our cheddar is made specially for us with a recipe that is perfect for aging. We then carefully age it in our special aging cooler until it's ready for you! The older it gets, the dryer and sharper it gets. As our cheddar ages the moisture is released leaving behind crystals of pure...

www.mousehousecheese.com

But really once you get past 10 years the differences can be small.

10 Year Old Uber Sharp Cheddar

All of our cheddar is made specially for us with a recipe that is perfect for aging. We then carefully age it in our special aging cooler until it's ready for you! The older it gets, the dryer and sharper it gets. As our cheddar ages the moisture is released leaving behind crystals of pure...

www.mousehousecheese.com

Prices have gone up a lot since I had it.

 

[TooPatient]

I have had this:

15 Year Old Ludicrous Sharp Cheddar

All of our cheddar is made specially for us with a recipe that is perfect for aging. We then carefully age it in our special aging cooler until it's ready for you! The older it gets, the dryer and sharper it gets. As our cheddar ages the moisture is released leaving behind crystals of pure...

www.mousehousecheese.com

But really once you get past 10 years the differences can be small.

10 Year Old Uber Sharp Cheddar

All of our cheddar is made specially for us with a recipe that is perfect for aging. We then carefully age it in our special aging cooler until it's ready for you! The older it gets, the dryer and sharper it gets. As our cheddar ages the moisture is released leaving behind crystals of pure...

www.mousehousecheese.com

Prices have gone up a lot since I had it.

I've had "sharp white cheddar" and it is much better than the "cheddar" my parents used to buy. The 3 year aged white cheddar is so much better! I love when I can find it in my produce delivery. There was a 6 year aged white cheddar I got hold of somewhere locally. Night and day between it and the most common stuff around. I need to order one of these to try a 10+ year!

There was an aged Gouda I found in an odds/ends basket at one store. Was too expensive to have wanted to try a bigger piece, but my small 2 oz piece was a delicious splurge.

 

[Karl_K]

@TooPatient because it is to expensive to melt for a topping what I will do is make box shells and cheddar(packet cheese not powder) use the sauce and add some of the 10+ to pick up the flavor.
You can do the same for a dipping sauce with jar cheddar topping or soup.
Even the better 5-6 year old stuff will really turn up the flavor in it.
It actually does not take a lot to add a ton of flavor.
The 10+ is not something we have often.

How are you and your hubby doing?

 

[qubitasaurus]

We generallly pay more for Unagi and better quality dumplings (love most of the Hong Kong style ones) as our 2 yr old eats both but is discerning. She has very expensive tastes lol. But at least we get something into her that is no fast food or sweets. Still she costs as much to feed at night as all the other adults in the house combined sometimes.

Personally I pay more for chocolate, tea and ice cream. Cant stand any of the above if their cheap. Usuaally buy godaiva, TWG tea (and matcha powder imported from japan) and haagen daze for the ice cream.

Cheese is obsurdly expensive here -- think $50 per small wheele if you buy nice french stuff. And stupidly difficult to find. So I gave up.

 

[JPie]

We generallly pay more for Unagi and better quality dumplings (love most of the Hong Kong style ones) as our 2 yr old eats both but is discerning. She has very expensive tastes lol. But at least we get something into her that is no fast food or sweets. Still she costs as much to feed at night as all the other adults in the house combined sometimes.

Personally I pay more for chocolate, tea and ice cream. Cant stand any of the above if their cheap. Usuaally buy godaiva, TWG tea (and matcha powder imported from japan) and haagen daze for the ice cream.

Cheese is obsurdly expensive here -- think $50 per small wheele if you buy nice french stuff. And stupidly difficult to find. So I gave up.

I'll drink cheap tea if it's the only option. I find the trick is to not let it steep very long. That said, the good stuff is worth it!

 

[TooPatient]

@TooPatient because it is to expensive to melt for a topping what I will do is make box shells and cheddar(packet cheese not powder) use the sauce and add some of the 10+ to pick up the flavor.
You can do the same for a dipping sauce with jar cheddar topping or soup.
Even the better 5-6 year old stuff will really turn up the flavor in it.
It actually does not take a lot to add a ton of flavor.
The 10+ is not something we have often.

How are you and your hubby doing?

Good ideas! I usually do a base of the extra sharp cheddar or some other comparatively inexpensive then do some of the aged.

We're doing okay. DH is starting (work from home) 4 hours per day on Monday. Hoping he can sustain that. I think he will. My jaw is still bothering me, but recovering. I lived on mac & cheese, mashed potatoes, and pudding for two weeks. Still having some of that in rougher days. (Adding some smoked Gouda to the Velveeta mac and cheese made it pretty tolerable.)

How are you doing? Breathing settled into your normal?

 

[qubitasaurus]

I'll drink cheap tea if it's the only option. I find the trick is to not let it steep very long. That said, the good stuff is worth it!

Yes sometimes I find it calming even if it is cheap -- especially if it is cold. But it is very hot all year round here, so just about the only thing we make and drink is fresh iced tea and I find it super difficult to palet if the tea isnt nice stuff. I also love roibis and fruity teas and find this stuff has a dramatic change in taste if it is fresher.

 

[Karl_K]

Good ideas! I usually do a base of the extra sharp cheddar or some other comparatively inexpensive then do some of the aged.

We're doing okay. DH is starting (work from home) 4 hours per day on Monday. Hoping he can sustain that. I think he will. My jaw is still bothering me, but recovering. I lived on mac & cheese, mashed potatoes, and pudding for two weeks. Still having some of that in rougher days. (Adding some smoked Gouda to the Velveeta mac and cheese made it pretty tolerable.)

How are you doing? Breathing settled into your normal?

We like to add smoked Gouda to our motza for homemade pizza.
It gives it a bit of a kick.


Im doing ok, as long as the weather has been ok iv been doing ok.
Have an appointment the 12th with my pulmonologist also think they will do some testing, lung function and 6min walk maybe an xray or ct.
I am a bit freaked out about going there, its at the hospital.

 

[TooPatient]

We like to add smoked Gouda to our motza for homemade pizza.
It gives it a bit of a kick.


Im doing ok, as long as the weather has been ok iv been doing ok.
Have an appointment the 12th with my pulmonologist also think they will do some testing, lung function and 6min walk maybe an xray or ct.
I am a bit freaked out about going there, its at the hospital.

That would be awesome on pizza! We haven't done a homemade pizza in too long. Last one had a sauce I made from scratch using fresh basil from our garden. DH is great at kneading so we make a thick crust like most places here don't do. I want to say we used parmesan, asiago, and smoked mozzarella.

 

[LLJsmom]

wild black cod, abbey de belloc (a French sheep's cheese), the sheer volume of organic fruit. At any one time, we have apples, bananas, oranges, peaches, nectarines, cherries, papayas, mangos, in the house. There is so much fruit that it's overwhelming, and exhausting trying to keep up with eating them before they spoil. (I'm not the one buying them all.)

 

[Missy]

wild black cod, abbey de belloc (a French sheep's cheese), the sheer volume of organic fruit. At any one time, we have apples, bananas, oranges, peaches, nectarines, cherries, papayas, mangos, in the house. There is so much fruit that it's overwhelming, and exhausting trying to keep up with eating them before they spoil. (I'm not the one buying them all.)

What time do you want us over @LLJsmom ?

 

[mellowyellowgirl]

I'll drink cheap tea if it's the only option. I find the trick is to not let it steep very long. That said, the good stuff is worth it!

This is me!!!!! I do love a good tea but really anything will do in a pinch. If all the tea I drank was booze I think there would be a big problem.

 

[mellowyellowgirl]

Cheese is obsurdly expensive here -- think $50 per small wheele if you buy nice french stuff. And stupidly difficult to find. So I gave up.

I couldn't deal without cheese! My kid goes through a wheel of double brie a week!

 

[JPie]

wild black cod, abbey de belloc (a French sheep's cheese), the sheer volume of organic fruit. At any one time, we have apples, bananas, oranges, peaches, nectarines, cherries, papayas, mangos, in the house. There is so much fruit that it's overwhelming, and exhausting trying to keep up with eating them before they spoil. (I'm not the one buying them all.)

Is the piles of fruit a Chinese thing? My parents and my in-laws both have piles of fruit. So do my aunts and uncles. And what do they bring as hostess gifts? Fruit.

This is me!!!!! I do love a good tea but really anything will do in a pinch. If all the tea I drank was booze I think there would be a big problem.

Me too! I start my day with tea and I end it with herbal tea.

I couldn't deal without cheese! My kid goes through a wheel of double brie a week!

I hated cheese as a kid and through my teens. I’ve been making up for lost time for the last 18 years.

 

[LorettaB]

Local honey!
It's expensive, but totally worth it.
Plus, I am supporting local beekeepers.

I keep bees....support your local beek for sure!!!

 

[737liz]

My partner has become a tea snob during lockdown. He used to only like PG tips, but now we seek out to looseleaf tea, especially rooibos ones. The mariage frères marco polo rouge is great, as is the Betjeman Barton Stracciatella.

 

[MaisOuiMadame]

Mariage frères Le roi des Earl Grey loose leaf tea.
Where. Have. You. Been. All. My. Life??

 

[minousbijoux]

Mariage frères Le roi des Earl Grey loose leaf tea.
Where. Have. You. Been. All. My. Life??

 

[TooPatient]

@Karl_K I have been getting 4 year aged white cheddar for $3.99 per 8 oz block. (Imperfect Produce). It is probably far less good than others available, but the price is great! It makes for great nachos, taco salad, breakfast sandwiches, and other things that just need a bit of aged kick.

 

[Karl_K]

@Karl_K I have been getting 4 year aged white cheddar for $3.99 per 8 oz block. (Imperfect Produce). It is probably far less good than others available, but the price is great! It makes for great nachos, taco salad, breakfast sandwiches, and other things that just need a bit of aged kick.

sound awesome.
We have been enjoying some 5 year old from woodmans they had at a reasonable price.
Its at the point where its just getting crumbly and has a few crystals.
Awesome stuff.

 

[inne]

Jamon Iberico. It's the one thing that makes it very hard for me to be vegetarian. It's just so good!

 

[Big Fat Facets]

We, my husband and i, love to indulge in gourmet foods. We get lovely smelly cheeses from our local whole foods and bristol farms. We are a touch too lazy to venture farther to a specialty cheese shop. When the lockdown first swept california in march we indulged in lots of grand cru and premier cru champagne. it made the newness of the lockdown easier to cope with.

We haven't been red meat eaters for several years BUT just placed an order for several pounds of grassfed wagyu ribeye and tenderloin. It was a big ethical decision for us to decide to place the order.

in the past, when we use to consume red meat, we'd love to have proscuitto san daniele and di parma... loved jamon iberico.

The grilled cheese sandwiches we make are out of this world amazing with brie, camembert, truffle cheese we like to experiment with.
Bread and cheese is so comforting.

My husband LOVES seafood. im okay with it. He'll order alaskan king crab legs. he'd take me to his favorite restaurants and he'd order a super fresh grouper from the tank and they prepare it with heaps of julienned scallions and ginger. very fragrant and delicately delicious. Its very tasty but not something i deeply crave. Abalone and sweet santa barbara shrimp... all from the tank. We have a place here locally that sources santa barbara sea urchin. we use to get it by the wooden pallet that you see the sushi chefs take out from the fridge. And assorted exotic (don't know the names of) herbs and dried goods my husband stashes in the pantry and freezer that he uses for soup and tonic. it's supposed to tonify and condition the body. for this type of stuff, i just do as im told.

i've been enjoying japanese ceremonial matcha for well over a decade. i have it simply, with hot water.

we do shop, exclusively organic, free range, grass fed, wild harvested, biodynamic when applicable, for as long as i can remember. i recall my folks shopping organic, wild harvested, free range...etc... (Certain exceptions made for rich quality ice cream that is not usda organic, imported cheeses)

***edit*** would love to keep chickens in the garden for the BEST quality eggs but alas the husband is against it.

My cats enjoy human grade, organic, grain free food

Yes, i think food indulgences are worth it. Quality food consumption keeps people & pets healthy and happy.

 

[Girlfriday17]

Good cheese, especially good semi-soft cheeses like Brie and Cambazola. Fortunately there’s a discount grocery chain in my area that sometimes gets incredible cheese at wonderful prices.

I’ll splurge on good seafood, but only if it’s fresh and local.

Me too with great cheese. Cambonzola is my absolute favourite (with wild strawberries).

 

[PintoBean]

Those stupid salted egg fish skins you and @mochiko42 told me about. I ended up trying stipps, golden duck, AND Irvins.

 

[Cerulean]

I’m an absolute food snob. I own it. I shop almost entirely at the farmers market for food when I can. I grow what I can to mitigate costs in a community garden. I’m lucky that I can afford it. But there are a few items in particular I never skimp on:

• Japanese whiskey (Nikka Coffey Grain )
• Coffee beans <— I spend a stupid amount on coffee
• grass fed butter & milk
• eggs
• olive oil
• cured red meats especially, but meats in general
• most cheese - I can be seduced by less expensive smoked cheddars or spreads
• there’s a buckwheat honey that I scrounge for from central Illinois that costs ain’t cheap, but it tastes like sorghum
• flour - organic only, flour is where nasty pesticides get ya
• Fresh herbs
• vanilla, cinnamon, cardamom, peppercorns, specialty chili powders
• hot sauces from all over the world - I have about 20 hot sauces in my tiny fridge and use them EVERYDAY

 

[bludiva]

I’m an absolute food snob. I own it. I shop almost entirely at the farmers market for food when I can. I grow what I can to mitigate costs in a community garden. I’m lucky that I can afford it. But there are a few items in particular I never skimp on:

• Japanese whiskey (Nikka Coffey Grain )
• Coffee beans <— I spend a stupid amount on coffee
• grass fed butter & milk
• eggs
• olive oil
• cured red meats especially, but meats in general
• most cheese - I can be seduced by less expensive smoked cheddars or spreads
• there’s a buckwheat honey that I scrounge for from central Illinois that costs ain’t cheap, but it tastes like sorghum
• flour - organic only, flour is where nasty pesticides get ya
• Fresh herbs
• vanilla, cinnamon, cardamom, peppercorns, specialty chili powders
• hot sauces from all over the world - I have about 20 hot sauces in my tiny fridge and use them EVERYDAY

yesssss to all this. what are your favorite hot sauces? there's a store here called "tears of joy" that stocks hundreds. i like a couple of our local options, salsa el gallo and yellowbird

 

[Cerulean]

yesssss to all this. what are your favorite hot sauces? there's a store here called "tears of joy" that stocks hundreds. i like a couple of our local options, salsa el gallo and yellowbird

Yum yum. Oooh yellow bird makes one of my favorite go-tos! Their blue agave sriracha is perfection.

I privilege flavor over gratuitously hot any day. I’ve had so many extra spicy hot sauces that lack in the flavor department. Granted, I don’t mind extra spicy either

A few recent faves ranging from very pricey to dirt cheap:

• Truff in extra hot (lol who doesn’t want truffles in their hot sauce?)
• momofukos ssam sauce
• Weak knees Gochujang sriracha - Mother in Laws is good too - also have a few other cheap & delish gochujang sauces I nabbed from a Korean grocery store that are stellar
• Co-op sauce ANYTHING- run and operated by the nicest people on the planet - the last time I left with a crate full of sauces. Standouts are their Poblano mustard, Kimski (fermented and super umami), jack o lantern, and the Barrel
• Mina’s harissa sauce
• El Yucateco’s habanero XXXtra - hot as fire but Soooooo flavorful and smoky
• It’s not a hot sauce but deserves an honorable mention - I never thought much about artisanal ketchups until I had 78 brand’s spicy ketchup. It’s unbelievably good.

 

[RunningwithScissors]

Another fan of really good loose leaf teas here! We have a whole cupboard full. I love sampling through the oolongs, whites, greens and blacks depending on my mood. Been on a Kenyan kick recently with a tad of sugar. Heavenly.

I love McNulty's in NYC, its an amazing old time shop/tea purveyor, worth a visit for tea lovers.

You all probably know this already, but a tip for making really smooth (less tannic) iced tea is to do the cold brew method where you just throw some tea bags into a pitcher of cool water and refrigerate it overnight. It produces wonderful tea by the morning. That method can even help 'tame' some of the cheaper/rougher teas and make them more drinkable.