Record 4.16-pound truffle sells for $61,250 in NYC

NEW YORK | A record-setting 4.16-pound white truffle has sold for $61,250 at a New York City auction.

Sotheby’s says the fungus was sold Saturday to a food and wine lover from Taiwan bidding by phone.

In this Dec. 3, 2014 file photo provided by Sotheby's Auction House, a record-setting 4.16-pound white truffle is seen at the U.S. Sabatino headquarters in West Haven, Connecticut. Sotheby's sold the massive fungus at auction on Saturday, Dec. 6, 2014 to a food and wine lover from Taiwan who was bidding by phone. The firm chose to auction the item in New York to benefit Citymeals-on-Wheels and the Children's Glaucoma Foundation. (AP Photo/Sotheby's Auction House, File) — In this Dec. 3, 2014 file photo provided by Sotheby’s Auction House, a record-setting 4.16-pound white truffle is seen at the U.S. Sabatino headquarters in West Haven, Connecticut. Sotheby’s sold the massive fungus at auction on Saturday, Dec. 6, 2014 to a food and wine lover from Taiwan who was bidding by phone. The firm chose to auction the item in New York to benefit Citymeals-on-Wheels and the Children’s Glaucoma Foundation. (AP Photo/Sotheby’s Auction House, File)

The truffle was found last week in Umbria, Italy, by Sabatino Truffles.

The firm had said it turned down million-dollar offers from buyers in China. Instead, it chose to auction the truffle in New York to benefit Citymeals-on-Wheels and the Children’s Glaucoma Foundation.

Sabatino Truffles spokeswoman Jane Walsh had said the truffle was slightly smaller than an American football. She says the average white truffle that’s unearthed is about the size of a walnut.

Sotheby’s says the previous largest white truffle ever found was 2.5 pounds.