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Truffle Oil


jg488

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Can't tell you if this is the best, but the bottle the ex-boy friend got me had a label of "Gocce di Tartufo Bianco" on it and comes in a squarish bottle. It's what they use at Nobu and I seen it used by the kitchen staff of Le Cirque as well. Hmmmm..... come to think of it, must find new boyfriend with similar connections :laugh::laugh:

Ya-Roo Yang aka "Bond Girl"

The Adventures of Bond Girl

I don't ask for much, but whatever you do give me, make it of the highest quality.

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Practically all white truffle oils are made with artificial aromas. they have a chemic al taste because they are just that. I always buy black truffle oil which can be pretty decent, or even summer truffle oil. The summer truffles are cheap and they actually put the peelings from the truffle into olive oil. I find these oils great on mashed potatoes, polenta and any type of mushroom risotto (preferably porcini)

Ruth Friedman

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  • 1 year later...

Everywhere I turn, including an article on truffles in yesterday's NY Times, makes the claim that all truffle oil is totally synthetic. While I am not a big fan of truffle oil anyway, since it pales so dramatically by comparison to the genuine tuber, I wonder if any of you have any evidence, pro or con, regarding the fraudulent nature of this widely used product.

Bill Klapp

bklapp@egullet.com

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That black truffle oil is even more useless than synthetic white truffle oil? I don't know about you, but I seldom see "black truffle oil" served up as a calling card on restaurant menus. Instead, black truffles are alleged, and what you get are a few slices of flavorless black truffle "carpaccio" out of a jar. I could make the case that black truffles themselves, even fresh ones, are a fraud, but that would just piss someone off...

Bill Klapp

bklapp@egullet.com

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I've never heard that it was synthetic till now.

So what is it? A concentrate from some type of other mushrooms or fungi?

Has anyone had "White Truffle Flour"? I have a small 1oz? jar that my mom gave me. It was a premium for NPR so I think she paid about $40.00 for it. Anyway, the smell is so pungent, but even a 1/4 tsp really adds a nice flavor to sauces, soups, etc.

What is this stuff I've been using?!!!!!!! Probably cocaine... :rolleyes:

JANE

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all white truffle oil is not a fraud. 15 years ago i bought white truffle oil in the alba street market that was basically olive oil with about 1/4 inch of white truffle shavings (peelings more likely) in the bottom. i've seen similar products since. most white truffle oil (but not all) is actually "flavored" ("odorized") with a petroleum ingredient.

but you have to ask what is a fraud? if something smells enough like white truffle to satisfy you, and the price is fair, what is the harm? personally, i find the regular dousing of food with white truffle oil at fine restaurants to be pretty repellent. on the other hand, thomas keller uses it from time to time. do you think he can't tell the difference?

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There is a little bodega in Assisi that sells excellent truffle oil, but the fragrance and flavor don't last long, as you would expect. My experience has been that you get the real deal from local suppliers. Another observation is that truffles don't travel well, they just never taste the same on this side (North America) of the world. Something about air travel. (same for parmigiana). Not that I've ever carried any back in my bags....

But, regarding white truffle oil...if its all synthetic then they should call it something else. The harm is false labelling. It simply isnt' truffles. So what the heck is it??

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Not all white truffle oil is synthetic - I've made the white truffle oil myself at ADPA! If they're talking about all white truffle oil sold retail in the States, then maybe they should say so!

Bill - explain yourself please - why do you think black truffles are a fraud?

And Russ - I feel so...betrayed. What's the fraud? The fraud is that if it's not oil flavoured with real white truffle, then it's not white truffle oil - it's artificially flavoured white truffle oil - and that's fine if it's labelled as such. The harm? This very discussion is the harm. Look, I think artificially flavoured just about anything can be fine - oil, chocolate, potato chips, etc. - but the harm comes when people don't know there are light years' of difference with the real deal - not just you and the Thomas Kellers in the States.

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Schielke, send me a check for $1,000 and a bag of fresh Doritos next November, and I will make your dream come true!

Loufood, I have a Piemontese soul, and thus, an irrepressable bias in favor of fresh white truffles. Not to be effete about it, but I find even the best black truffles to be no better than vaguely truffle-like by comparison. White truffles are eaten only raw, while black truffles must be cooked in order to give up their aroma and flavor. And a tiny bit of either in a dish seems to me to be a pretentious waste of time, effort and money. I am in Marcella Hazan's camp. She said, and I quote, "Why would anyone eat a black truffle unless there were no white truffles available?"

And I cannot disagree more strongly with your statement that artificially flavored products are fine as long as they are labelled as such. That smacks of the official USDA/FDA position, those fine bureaucrats that brought us the famous, and ultimately genocidal, "food pyramid". Artificially flavored, overly processed, carb-laden food, created in laboratories rather than gardens or kitchens, is why we are the most obese people on the face of God's earth, and also why we lack an indigenous cuisine that anyone could seriously compare favorably to the world's finest. We have let systematically allowed corporate America to destroy the quality of our food for their profit. I am a child of the 50s. I can remember what real, natural, properly aged beef tasted like. Your average twenty-five-year-old today would spit it out, either because the taste was too strong, or worse, because they would think it was rotten. Sure, there are pockets in this country where fresh, heirloom produce is grown, and Nieman Ranch meats, and good restaurants that capitalize on the availability of such ingredients, but those remain minority phenomena. As nearly as I can tell, among major American foodstuffs, only the Snickers bar remains more or less the same as it was in my childhood, and frankly, I would be afraid to subject one to chemical analysis. But other than that, I have no strong opinions one way or the other.

Bill Klapp

bklapp@egullet.com

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Schielke - my man - I was thinking Doritos too when I was writing potato chips.

Bill, I don't totally disagree with your feelings on truffles - but I have been having this urge to batter dip and deep fry a bucket full of small black truffles - not white, just black.

But as to the artificially flavoured stuff - who you calling obese pal? And one windmill at a time dude. I know this could be part of a slippery slope argument - greased down in fake white truffle oil - but you really think having artificially flavoured white truffle oil in any way affects the obesity of Americans? Uh-huh. I know it's part of a bigger problem but maybe it's a generational thing - my generation always lived with the big killer problems - we just don't go nuts about why they exist - they do. So let's just try to deal with them. Label the shit - and move on.

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Loufood, I'm in the "it's part of a bigger problem" camp. And actually, I was (or should have been) calling MYSELF fat, but I am finally doing something about it. The Italians have taught me that there is no correlation whatsoever between eating all you want and being overweight. The only thing that matters is WHAT you eat, and as nearly as I can tell, the whole northern half of Italy has been on the South Beach Diet for several centuries now! And I could put my political agenda aside long enough to sample one or two of those deep-fried truffles, if only because it appeals to my Southern roots! I'm even thinking better than corn dogs or fried okra...

Bill Klapp

bklapp@egullet.com

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Bill - me too - not the fat thing - sorry - but yes, it's all part of a bigger problem. But that bigger problem's not going to go away. But you know what? Maybe we could all get together and lobby for artificially flavoured white truffle oil to be labeled as such. Oh wow. What a glorious day of victory that will be. I'm sorry - I really do agree with you - I really do - I'm just not willing to fight this fight. As for eating - yah! No kidding! It's not just what you eat - but what you don't eat too! Like any low mass, high calorie food! But really - good luck and congrats on your weight loss - it's not easy. But maybe we'll hold off on those bucket o' truffles - sides of mini-corn dogs and okra too.

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  • 3 weeks later...
try da rosario in nyc. they are the largest inporters of truffle products in the country. 1-718-784-4122 try the black truffle butter also!!!!! :rolleyes:

I think derosario is out of business. I tried to place an order there a month ago, nobody answers ths phones, nobody returned my e-mail.

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  • 2 months later...

So, I'm hearing all this fuss about Truffle Oil, that it's an imazing ingredient but I can't find it any where. Then, one day I find a bottle of White truffle oil, the sales clerk doesn't know how to use it but I got it any way. I've tried to use it several times and either can't taste it or it tastes awful! It tastes terrible out of the bottle. So what gives? Did I get the wrong stuff? Is it an aquired taste? Help! :unsure:

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Welcome to eGullet, Ken.

Yes, it's an acquired taste, but some people acquire it much quicker than others. Others never do. It's just one of those things. No big deal either way.

Is your bottle fresh? There should be an expiration date on the bottle or its packaging. If the sales clerk didn't know how to use it (and couldn't find someone who did), I suspect it was the kind of store where the oil had been sitting around for some time. Truffle oil poops out faster than plain olive oil.

Even when fresh, the initial quality of the oil makes a difference, of course. I've found Italian oils to be the most reliable. Like you, though, I think it tastes terrible straight out of the bottle no matter how fresh.

As others mentioned in the above-referenced thread, I use truffle oil from time to time in risotto, on pasta, and in mashed potatoes. It's also my standard finishing oil for roasted asparagus. It can easily overwhelm a dish, so it takes some practice to hit that narrow band between not being able to taste it and not being able to taste anything else. I'd recommend adding it in small increments until you can just taste it.

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Quite recently I read this thread on truffle oils, both white and black:

Thank you, very interesting. I'm a brand new member and haven't yet figured out how to maximize the site yet. I looked for (searched for) Truffle oil and didn't find any thing. I don't think i'll be too driven to find and use truffle oil, but will give it another chance next time I come accross a fresh bottle. What's the difference between white truffle oil & black?

Thank you again.

Isn't this a great site?

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Two great places to buy truffles and truffle products online are Urbani and Earthy Delights.

So now I have a question for other eGulleters: What do you think of truffle pastes and/or powders? I love the taste of truffles, but let's say I'm making risotto -- just sauteeing the flavor base and rice in truffle oil yields very little truffle flavor. Would these pastes/powders yield a flavor similar to if I used fresh truffles?

Don Moore

Nashville, TN

Peace on Earth

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