Top 5 Most Luxurious Food Gifts

$850 Richart Chocolate Vault

A completely hand-crafted burlwood vault, made in France by a seasoned artisan. It takes four months for each temperature and humidity gauged vault to be made. The vault presents 7 drawers of Richart chocolates totaling 112 chocolates that weigh only 4 grams and contain only 15 calories per piece, which you are suggested to eat in a certain order. If you want to pay more, it's available for $857 at AHAlife. If you're a sybarite but can't afford the whole vault, try a Richart holiday box.

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$5,000 - $13,000 Yubari King Melon

The Japanese city of Yubari, Hokkaido has become famous for a tasty melon cultivar that’s a cross between two cantaloupe varieties. This orange-fleshed melon is prized for its juicy sweetness as well as its beauty. Yubari King melons are often sold in perfectly matched pairs and are a highly prized gift sure to impress a host or employer. In 2007, a pair sold at auction for just over $16,000. In 2008, the pair sold for over $26,000. In 2009, the recession brought the price down to $5,200 for a pair. If you'd like to taste these melons without the price, you can buy the seeds on Amazon for a few cents or pay a few dollars for the organic version. For about $10 per can, you can taste it in juice form or you can try it in a $33 pudding.

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$6,000 Black Watermelon from Hokkaido

Yet another type of luxury melon, the Densuke watermelon was grown and auctioned off in Japan in 2008 for nearly $6,000. The high price was not only due to the unusual color but it was also one of the first 65 harvested that year. Japanese buyers are often willing to pay more for the prestige of owning the very first ones of the year. Nine thousand more black watermelons were expected that year, which were expected to retail at department stores and supermarkets between $188 to $283. If you're ready to give these a try in your garden, the seeds are available on Amazon as well for just a few bucks.

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$11,363 Almas Caviar (per pound)

The most expensive caviar in the world is available in a budget size for $1192. A rare Beluga white caviar from Iran, the Almas (meaning "diamond") brand is available exclusively at the London-based Caviar House & Prunier in Picadilly. I've read reports indicating the caviar is white because it's from albino Beluga sturgeon found in the Caspian Sea. Other reports indicate the eggs are lighter because they come from mature fish, which get lighter with age. (To me, this screams high mercury content but the Caspian Sea is supposedly pristine.)

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$325 Gläce Ice Cubes & Spheres (50 pieces)

You may have seen soapstone or stainless steel ice cubes that cool your drinks without diluting them. Now feast your eyes on tasteless cubes and spheres of ice made from purified water, meant to avoid contaminating the taste of premium liquors and drinks with the minerals, additives and other pollutants found in tap water. In addition, they melt much slower than regular ice. The company claims the spheres and cubes are meticulously crafted and individually carved.