No matter if they’re black or white | Truffles

They are impossibly finicky to cultivate, with a time lag of about 20 years making them the single most expensive food commodity in the world, often commanding as much as €700 for just half a kilo, sold at auctions throughout Europe.

Truffles are harvested in Europe with the aid of female pigs or truffle dogs, which are able to detect the strong smell of mature truffles underneath the surface of the ground.

The female pig becomes excited when she sniffs a chemical that is similar to the male swine sex attractant. The use of pigs is risky, though, because of their natural tendency to eat any remotely edible thing.

For this reason, dogs have been trained to dig into the ground wherever they find these odors, and they willingly exchange their truffle for a piece of bread and a pat on the head. Not a bad trade for the truffle hunter!

Some truffle merchants dig for their prizes themselves when they see truffle flies hovering around the base of a tree. Once discovered, truffles can be collected in subsequent years at the same site.

To enjoy the wonderfulness of the variously described pleasure of dining on truffles, you must eat fresh, uncooked specimens shortly after they have been harvested. The strength of the truffle flavour decreases rapidly with time, and much of it is lost before some truffles reach the market.

Black Truffles

Truffles grow underground in a symbiotic relationship with the roots of certain trees. Black Perigord truffles are named for the region of France where they grow amongst the roots of oak trees. Black truffles have the strongest flavour of all the truffles and a pungent aroma. The smell is so strong it will permeate eggs in their shells, if they are stored together, and change the taste of the eggs. The flavor of black truffle oil, like the truffles themselves, is stronger and more earthy. It is used to flavour liver pates, sauces and savory pastries.

White Truffles

White, or Alba, truffles grow best in northern Italy, in the Piedmont region. Truffles grown in different areas have different tastes since they grow underground and take on the characteristics of the soil they are found in. White truffles have a more delicate taste and a garlicky aroma. They are usually eaten raw, shaved very thinly over risottos, pastas, egg dishes and fondues. White truffle oil can be added to these same dishes.

Cooking

The fungus is scraped or grated onto food and into sauces and soups just before eating. Truffle slicers have been especially designed for this purpose. Experts recommend that veal, chicken, fish, soufflés, omelettes, pasta, and rice can be glorified with thinly sliced truffles. Cream and cheese sauces avidly take up their flavor.

Insert thin wedges of truffle under the skin of a chicken and store it overnight in the refrigerator before roasting.

A well-known chef prepares a high-quality pâté de foie gras baked with a stainless steel tube running through the center. As soon as the pâté is cooked, he fills the tube with diced uncooked truffles and then removes the tube.

Truffles are subtle and powerful at the same time; they need to be handled with the utmost attention in every recipe. Truffles impregnate their intense aroma and flavor to the food around them; therefore they should always be used with ingredients that are accommodating to these strong qualities.

Preserving

The pungent odor of a truffle will penetrate the shells of eggs and flavor kernels of rice when stored with them in a closed glass jar placed in a refrigerator. Once the prize truffle has been consumed, the eggs may be enjoyed in an omelette and the rice in pilaf.

Truffles can be frozen for two weeks in a freezer-proof glass jar. Another recommendation is to store them whole in bland oil.

It can also be preserved in bland oils or butter, which absorb the flavour and then may be used to flavour other dishes.

Truffle oil

As fresh truffles are so difficult and expensive to get, a good truffle oil is a valuable substitute.

Oddly, truffles are not actually an ingredient in most truffle oils. Truffle oil is made from an olive oil base. Aromatic ingredients are added to mimic the taste of either black or white truffles, producing an odour and flavour similar to real truffles. Other organic aromatics are also added to give a taste closer to either black or white truffles.

Choosing a black or white truffle oil

In choosing which truffle oil to use, black or white, you should consider the recipe and other ingredients. Black truffles are always cooked and have a stronger taste, so black truffle oil is a good choice to go with meats, sauces and casseroles.

White truffles are usually not cooked, and have a lighter taste, so white truffle oil is better with eggs, pasta with cheese, risottos and dishes where it will be added after the cooking is completed, such as drizzled over tomatoes and fresh mozzarella cheese.