For some reason, back in the '90s, truffle oil became an acceptable—even desirable—ingredient for chefs to use. Coming in at a fraction of the cost of real truffles (which vary year to year, but generally run in the thousands-of-dollars-per-ounce range), it seemed like an easy way to add some truffle aroma to an otherwise boring dish. But here's the truth: It's no good. More
For years a few informed chefs and food writers have been railing about the indiscriminate use of truffle oil not principally derived from truffles, in restaurants fine and not so fine. Now Daniel Patterson has let the foul, truffle-like aroma out of the bag. Patterson says, "Most commercial truffle oils are concocted by mixing olive oil with one or more compounds like 2,4-dithiapentane (the most prominent of the hundreds of aromatic molecules that make the flavor of white truffles so exciting) that have been created in a laboratory. Many chefs regard it as a cheap thrill for both the kitchen and the diner. As S. Irene Virbila, chief restaurant critic of the Los Angeles Times, said in an e-mail, "Chefs... More
