Truffles!
Ok, heres the deal...I've been hearing all about truffle mushrooms and have been wanting to taste them! I know I know, I may be the last person on earth that hasn't yet indulged in the pleasure that is a truffle, SO- share your experiences! Can anyone clue me in on the taste, texture, and what I should look for in purchasing truffles? PS: Perhaps one main reason I have not tried truffles is...I am a college student- on a budget!!
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16 Comments:
I haven't been a college student in many, many moons and I've never purchased truffles. They're not readily available in the boonies, and I probably couldn't afford them if they were. I have had a few shaved slices on a restaurant meal or two, but don't feel experienced enough to really comment on taste and texture. I'll bet there are even a few foodies who don't have them on their weekly grocery list, but who can tell you more than I.
PerkyMac at 7:37PM on 02/10/08
I chuckled when I read your post...just today I read Adam's post over on AG on his birthday lunch for Craig at Per Se and I was salivating over all the wonderful pictures he took and one in particular had endless black truffles shaved on top and I was again reminded that I have never even tasted truffles! So, please share away and hopefully one of these days I can find out for myself too!
radley24 at 7:38PM on 02/10/08
p.s. - Like PerkyMac, I too am well beyond college years and still haven't had truffles! :-)
radley24 at 7:41PM on 02/10/08
Since you're a college student (isn't the "on a budget part" redundant?), you might want to start small (and cheaper) by getting a little bottle of truffle oil or truffle salt. Still pricey, but not like trying to get good quality truffles. You'll definitely get an idea of the flavor, and if you don't much like it, you can still pass it along to somebody who'd appreciate it (without worrying about spoilage, etc.). If you do like it, you'll be able to indulge in a small, more reasonably priced luxury.
I don't have loads of truffle experience, but the thing I had most recently, which just totally knocked my socks off, was a very traditional mac'n'cheese gratinee that had little flecks of black truffle mixed in. Normally, I'm a devout traditionalist/purist when it comes to my mac'n'cheese, but this stuff... wow... all I can say is, "OH. MY. GOD." I managed to refrain from having a Harry Met Sally moment in the restaurant, but it was a bit iffy for a minute there!
LoCo at 8:12PM on 02/10/08
Too funny LoCo! I call it a Giada moment (when she tastes her food), but it's the same thing. THAT good, huh? Wow.
PerkyMac at 8:28PM on 02/10/08
i smelled some truffle salt at dean and deluca last weekend, and that, my friends, is the closest i have ever come.
i did have gnocchi with black truffles once, but they were dry and absolutely tasteless, so i don't count that.
cybercita at 11:03PM on 02/10/08
The verdict is in! I tried a truffle, and was not as WOWED as I thought I'd be. It could be because I bought a jarred truffle, in its juices. I think the way to taste it is dry and grated. Anyhow..thats how it went. Nonetheless, I will still have some truffle with my dinner tonight. After all, I did pay $6.99- I've gotta make it worth it!
mhgNYU at 10:52AM on 02/11/08
I smelled one when I worked at a fancy food shop: it's startling if you don't know what to expect. Not really sure what to call it, but its not exactly pleasant at first.
I have no idea about jarred truffles, never tasted them and don't know how they compare to the real thing, but I would be concerned about those juices. Here is an apparently more knowledgeable discussion of jarred truffles:
http://www.chowhound.com/topics/485938
I would recommend going to the best cheese chop you can find and looking for a truffled cheese. Boschetto is the name for an Italian one that is amazing. You can definitely pick up a good truffle flavor from it (and it's visibly flecked with truffle). You can purchase as much (as little) as you like and get a good sense.
renzata at 4:02PM on 02/11/08
The most cost-effective way to get a lot of truffle for a little money is to buy truffle oil, which is basically olive oil infused with truffle flavor...
And, keep in mind that oregon truffles (while having a lot less flavor) are proportionally less expensive.
JustinMarx at 5:52PM on 02/11/08
That may be true, JustinMarx, but be sure you buy a quality truffle oil. Some of the cheaper brands try to replicate the taste of truffles chemically.
DaveFaris at 6:42PM on 02/11/08
Truffles are one of those food mysteries where no one can really explain what they taste like so we all want to find it for ourselves, but huzzah, they cost a fortune. I'm totally a member of this sucker camp.
Hillary
Chew on That
Chew on That at 4:27PM on 02/12/08
I am 36, have travelled the world and have never had a truffle! Seems like I just set a goal for this year, huh?
sparkalina at 4:49PM on 02/12/08
The best meal I may ...have ever eaten may have been a simple French omlete served with shaved fresh truffle at the restaurant La Beaugraviere in Mondragon, in southern France. Au pays de la Truffe(www.beaugraviere.com) The wine was from Gigondias, Domaine Les Palliets (?) I remember everything about that lunch with complete clarity, including the other diners how the waiter poured, as to taste something that devine will leave you in a transformed state....I am fortunate to eat many wonderful meals, but this is an sensory experience, its not about food artistry. It is a experience you must pursue if you are serious about food. I live in Oregon and cook with the Oregon truffles,(even just tonight grated on shrimp fra diavolo) we are extremely proud of them whether they will truely compete with the wild truffles of southern France, will be debated and tested for decades. You must try them and tell us what you think...
Nourishment at 3:17AM on 02/14/08
o.k.! exactly what is a truffle? i heard that they use pigs to sniff them out at the bottom of trees bt the roots,is this true,is it like a mushroom,pammy
pammy at 6:46PM on 02/17/08
I've had them a few times. It's really, really hard to describe the flavor. To me, they just taste like the earth. Not dirt, not soil, but the earth. It's the only thing I can come up with. They truly are, at least to me, indescribably delicious. Most truffle oils don't do them justice. that said, D'Artagnan makes a pretty decent one, which is ridiculously good drizzled on mashed potatoes or rice. Just a drizzle.
chisai at 10:46AM on 02/19/08
Not long ago, we purchased Truffle Salt at Dean & Deluca. It was one of those things I sampled, returned to, walked away, came back, walked away, came back and finally said "OK already, I give up! I'll buy it!!" The truffle taste lingered in my mouth the whole time I was in the store.
Beware of "sampling" truffles shaved onto a dish. That can be a pricey experiment.
chiff0nade at 11:27AM on 02/19/08