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How do you truffle an egg?


cbuckthorp

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Hi there,

I'm looking for instructions oin how to properly truffle an egg (in the shell and raw). I've heard that there are different ways to do this but there is a real technique to getting the best result. So far all I've been able to find is to put some eggs with a truffle in a plastic bag for up to 5 days. Anyone out there know the right way to do this?

Many thanks,

Chris

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I put the whole truffle and the eggs in a mason jar, seal the jar tightly and stick it in the fridge. I leave it there for at least three days and up to a week, opening it every day to let the humidity escape and to inhale that smell and remind myself of the treat to come.

Edited by carswell (log)
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Break the eggs into a bowl and wisk gently and season with salt & pepper. Cube your truffle(black) and mix into the eggs leaving some truffle for garnish. Refrigerate over night, scramble with butter adding some creme fraishe at the end, garnish with remaining truffles pieces. Ref, Paul Bocuse.

White truffles are shaved fresh over cooked eggs and served immediately. -Dick

Edited by budrichard (log)
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I've heard that you put the eggs into a container surrounded by rice.  Then you add the truffles, let sit... et voila!

Plus the rice is amazing...

Now that sounds interesting. So in a jar with some good risotto rice and 2 treats instead of 1.

Thanks to everyone who has responded so far. I think we are on the right track. Any French or Italian truffle experts out there???

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The allure of the truffle is the odor or gas that it gives off over time. The amount of odor or gas is fixed by the size of the truffle. There are no free rides. If you put your truffle in rice, what you will do is dry out the truffle and its odor will decrease transferring some to the rice. Eventually the odor will be completely gone. Far better to make risotto and add the truffle to the risotto than using truffled rice. We keep ours in a plastic bag and use as soon as possible.

BTW, there is some evidence to suggest that truffle flavored items are really flavored with an artificial ester. I am having a difficult time determining if this is common practise. Until I do, we use only fresh or quality canned truffles. -Dick

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BTW, there is some evidence to suggest that truffle flavored items are really flavored with an artificial ester. I am having  a difficult time determining if this is common practise. Until I do, we use only fresh or quality canned truffles. -Dick

I've heard this about white truffle oil. I've heard it is almost invariably made artificially.

Edited by fiftydollars (log)
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I would definetly agree with that, especially considering most truffle oils list the infamous "flavoring" i.e. artificial as an ingredient otherwise they just say truffle oil. I never knew you could juice a truffle :laugh: or economically remove its oil. In regards to the egg i would agree that the rice will dry out and basically "kill" your truffle, I would just jar egg and truffle and let sit. A good experiment might be to pierce the egg whith a pin as done in some boiled egg recipes, I will try this as soon as I return home to NJ and my order from D'artagnan comes in.

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I would just jar egg and truffle and let sit. A good experiment might be to pierce the egg whith a pin as done in some boiled egg recipes, I will try this as soon as I return home to NJ and my order from D'artagnan comes in.

Far be it from me to discourage experimentation. But I doubt piercing is either necessary or advisable.

Not necessary? Here's a story. The first time I truffled eggs (as described above), I decided to make brouillade (eggs scrambled with truffle). After breaking the eggs into a mixing bowl, I turned away to get a fork to beat them with. When I turned back, I encountered such a strong blast of truffle that I said to myself, "Damn, I left the truffle out on the counter." Except I hadn't. The truffle aroma came from the eggs alone.

Not advisable? Eggshells are already porous. And wouldn't piercing the egg break the membrame and introduce the possibility of bacterial contamination?

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Basically, put whatever you want to flavor near the truffle. Putting it in the rice flavors the rice. Putting it in with a carton of eggs -- or, better yet, sealed in a container with a few eggs -- flavors the eggs. If you have to store the truffle anyway, you might as well store it near something that will soak up the flavor.

Bruce

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The various truffle oils now admit that they are flavored with "nature-identical" truffle essence, and a few suppliers I asked said, "I don't know the exact details, but somehow they get the essence from the truffle and transfer it to the oil...". When I pressed them, I learned that that is total BS. There are places that synthesize the "truffle essence" in a chemistry lab and infuse it into oil. I didn't save all the links from when I looked that up, but if you Google "nature identical truffle" and "nature identical truffle oil" you'll find them.

Overheard at the Zabar’s prepared food counter in the 1970’s:

Woman (noticing a large bowl of cut fruit): “How much is the fruit salad?”

Counterman: “Three-ninety-eight a pound.”

Woman (incredulous, and loud): “THREE-NINETY EIGHT A POUND ????”

Counterman: “Who’s going to sit and cut fruit all day, lady… YOU?”

Newly updated: my online food photo extravaganza; cook-in/eat-out and photos from the 70's

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Carswell, thanks for the advice I will not be piercing them good point on the membrane(was not thinking straight at the time, I was cooking with one hand typing with the other). I will though experiment with black and white truffle. The norm for eggs is black trufflle (i.e. brouillade) but i think the white truffle might add a more subtle more delicate flavor to it. I'll be home in about a week and will try it then. Did you continue with the brouillade or did you just scramble them without the addition of truffles, if so how was the pungency of the truffled eggs without additional truffles compared to that of non truffled with truffles.

edit: How long did you leave the egg and truffle(s) together.

Edited by M.X.Hassett (log)
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best truffle oil comes with a few little morsels of truffle floating in it. it lasts longer and its flavour has more fidelity with its truffle essence.......

i find a good truffle oil, a few drops of it, is very good at oomphing up a bit of fresh truffle.

also, because to my knowledge there still is no fresh truffle worth eating in the usa, and because tinned or jarred truffles are a far cry from the real bliss thing, you need to be near a truffle source to eat dishes with just truffles alone as it needs to be very very fresh. the moment a truffle is unearthed, it starts to lose its fragrance.

this is especially true of summer truffles. i always thought they had no flavour, even recently i was in umbria and ate summer truffles on spaghetti and no flavour, bought a jar of summer truffle condimento, and i had to oomph it up with a drop of oil.

and then i went on a truffle hunt near bergerac. our truffled omelet was amazing, the truffle a mere hour or two from the ground. the hunter said this was the reason, though of course i know there are truffles and there are truffles. but i'll never pooh poooh summer truffles again. i 'll just make sure they are very fresh.

eggs stashed overnight with truffles are wonderful. you can eat the truffled omelet, and still have more truffles to eat in something else!

i like truffle sandwiches myself.

i love truffles big time non stop 24/7.

Marlena

Marlena the spieler

www.marlenaspieler.com

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Did you continue with the brouillade or did you just scramble them without the addition of truffles, if so how was the pungency of the truffled eggs without additional truffles compared to that of non truffled with truffles.

I've done both. That first time, though, I chopped the truffle and put much of it in the brouillade. The rest went into a vinaigrette as per Rossini's famous recipe. The trimmings went into a small container of olive oil (the best way of ensuring that your truffle oil isn't "nature identical").

By the way, the only downside of brouillade is it's appearance. One trick is to spoon it into emptied, cleaned and air-dried eggshells (the bottom 2/3), place them in egg cups and garnish with a paper-thin slice of truffle and some chives.

How long did you leave the egg and truffle(s) together.

Minimum of overnight. I usually leave the fungus with the eggs two or three days and up to five. To some extent, it depends on the truffle; Himalayan truffles can easily last a week and since they're more about odour than flavour, it makes sense to leave them with the eggs longer.

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