A giant, record-setting white truffle discovered in Italy has sold for $61,250 at an auction in New York — and it could have gone for much, much more than that.

Weighing in at 4.16 pounds, the huge white truffle beat the previous record of 2.5 pounds, and it was purchased during a Sotheby’s auction by a buyer from Taiwan who bid via telephone, according to a Reuters report.

One of the world’s large truffle suppliers, Sabatino Truffles, discovered the huge fungus in Umbria, Italy last week, and has since stored it in an airtight box.

White truffles are a very rare and extremely coveted delicacy that are found only in certain parts of Italy in the months of October through December, and they grow wild in forests and can only be detected by specially trained dogs and hunters. They vary greatly in size and are judged for their flavor and smell.

The truffle that sold Saturday was much larger than the one sold in 2010 for $417,200 — however, you can’t necessarily compare to truffles based solely on weight and sale price, according to Sotheby’s.

The circumstances were different: the 2010 sale took place at a Hong Kong charity dinner, whereas only one bidder took part in Saturday’s auction. Proceeds from the sale will be donated to several charities.

There were reports that Chinese buyers had offered in excess of a million dollars for the valuable fungus, but the auction house decided to sell the fungus for charity instead.

The typical truffle is about the size of a walnut, making the truffle very unusual.

White truffles specifically come from the Piedmont region in northern Italy, although it can come from other areas nearby. It typically grows in a symbiotic relationship with oak, poplar, beech, and hazel trees and fruits in the fall, sometimes reaching about 5 inches in diameter, but often much smaller.