Saffron

In addition to being Mal's fake wife, it's also the world's most expensive spice. I just picked up some lemons and a bottle of poppy seeds from the store, so I could make scones, and noticed a 0.06 oz bottle of saffron on the shelf. Yes, 0.06 oz. The price per ounce? $308!

I didn't buy any. :)

I heard one of the cooks on the Food Network say that the stamens of 75,000 crocuses need to be harvested for a single pound of saffron. Yikes!