{"id":61,"date":"2010-10-24T03:01:54","date_gmt":"2010-10-24T03:01:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.chefmorgan.com\/?p=61"},"modified":"2010-11-04T06:21:22","modified_gmt":"2010-11-04T06:21:22","slug":"all-about-truffles-part-one","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.chefmorgan.com\/engine\/all-about-truffles-part-one","title":{"rendered":"all about truffles (part one)"},"content":{"rendered":"

what are truffles? and why do they cost so much money!<\/h3>\n

Truffles are a subterranean fungus (although their botanical names identify them as a tuber) that grow near tree roots (primarily Oak).\u00a0\u00a0 Truffles are expensive primarily due to ever-increasing demand combined with an ever-increasingly low production.\u00a0 Combine that with their\u00a0 labor-intensive collection and their limited storage and you have a gastronomical rarity to be treasured.<\/p>\n

The harvesting and sale of truffles is serious business.\u00a0 Pigs or dogs (today primarily the latter) root out the subterranean fungus, accompanied by a trufficulteur<\/span>.\u00a0\u00a0 The trufficulteur<\/span> uncovers the each truffle (but not with his hands) and then replaces the dirt where he removed the truffle.\u00a0 Once harvested, the truffles are taken to the \u201ctruffle exchange\u201d (my term), markets where the truffles are carefully weighed and money is exchanged with a courtier <\/span>(a truffle broker).<\/p>\n

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<\/p>\n

truffle varieties,
\nwhere they come from, and when<\/h3>\n

The Black Truffle<\/span> (Tuber melanosporum<\/em>), the most well-known truffle and referred to as the \u201cBlack Diamond\u201d, is from P\u00e9rigord, France (although it can found in Provence as well as Italy).\u00a0 It is available from November to approximately March.\u00a0 Black Truffles\u00a0 are best in January and February after a good dose of cold, damp weather.\u00a0\u00a0 Fresh Black Truffles smell sweet, earthy, and a little like chocolate.<\/p>\n

The White Truffle<\/span> (Tuber magnatum<\/em>) or Alba Truffle is from Piedmont, Italy (although they also grow in parts of Croatia as well).\u00a0\u00a0 White truffles are very rare and come on the market as early as October.\u00a0 The season for White Truffles is short, generally ending in December.\u00a0 They are milder than the Black Truffles and smell a little like garlic.\u00a0 They are more expensive than Black Truffles due to their short season and rarity.<\/p>\n

The Burgundy Truffle<\/span> (Tuber uncinatum<\/em>) is a black truffle from Burgundy, France.\u00a0 It is available the same time as Black Truffles and White Truffles.\u00a0\u00a0 They smell similar to White Truffles.<\/p>\n

Summer Truffles<\/span> (Tuber eastivum<\/em>) have a crispy texture and are less fragrant than the White or Black Truffles.\u00a0\u00a0 They have a\u00a0 nutty, woodsy smell.\u00a0 They are said to be best in July.\u00a0\u00a0 Summer Truffles are found in France (the Burgundy region, Alsace and Savoy) as well as Spain and Italy.<\/p>\n

Tuscan truffles<\/span> are available in the Spring time.\u00a0 Out of all of the truffles, these are the least expensive and not the same caliber as the Black or White Truffles.\u00a0 They are often used in products such as oils, vinegars, pastes, and salts.<\/p>\n

Truffles are also grown in the Pacific Northwest (Oregon) but are said to be less strong then those grown in Europe.\u00a0 Truffles are also grown in China, the Himalayans, and Croatia.<\/p>\n

how to buy truffles<\/h3>\n

The quality of the truffle depends upon the weather conditions.\u00a0 It is best to buy truffles later in the season after they have taken advantage of the cold ground.\u00a0 However, if a truffle is over-ripe it will smell cheesy, smoky, musty, or even take on a gasoline smell.<\/p>\n

The truffle should neither be mushy nor dehydrated looking.\u00a0 The veins on the inside should be bright and well-spaced (if they are too close together, the truffle is dehydrated).\u00a0 Summer Truffles<\/span> have a black exterior with a dark beige, slightly pink interior.\u00a0\u00a0 Black Truffles<\/span> should have a dark charcoal\/black, bumpy exterior with a charcoal interior with and white veins.\u00a0 White Truffles<\/span> have a smooth, beige exterior and a lighter interior with pink veins.\u00a0 Burgundy Truffle<\/span>s look like Black Truffles<\/span> on the outside but the interior is lighter and appears brownish (rather than charcoal) in color.\u00a0\u00a0 Tuscan truffles have large white veins on their interior with a light brown exterior.<\/p>\n

If you are buying fresh truffles, they should still have dirt on them.\u00a0 The dirt protects the aroma and preserves the truffle.\u00a0\u00a0 Truffles are also sold in cans (either whole, grated, sliced or in pieces) or cryovaced (vacuum sealed in plastic), either fresh or frozen.<\/p>\n

You can buy sea salt mixed with ground truffles which keeps its flavor for a long time.\u00a0 This is a great alternative to buying a whole truffle or truffle shavings and you can use the salt to enhance the flavor of a variety of things: eggs, soups, pasta, roasted nuts, butter, french fries, and popcorn, of course.<\/p>\n

buyer beware<\/h3>\n

If you are buying fresh truffles, buy them from someone you trust.\u00a0 When you buy truffled products, carefully read the product labels because unfortunately, what most people recognize as \u201ctruffles\u201d is a truffle aroma that has been created in a laboratory.\u00a0 Consumers pay high prices in markets and restaurants for truffled items, believing the the products contain truffles or were truffle-infused.\u00a0 Sadly, this is not the case.\u00a0 Products often appear to suggest or imply they have actual truffles or came into contact with a real truffle (and as long as they are not actually saying that to be true it probably passes legal scrutiny).\u00a0 For example, if the product says:<\/p>\n

\u201ctruffle aroma\u201d
\n\u201cnatural truffle aroma\u201d
\n\u201cnatural black (or white or summer) truffle aroma\u201d
\n\u201cessence of truffle\u201d
\n\u201cnatural essence of truffle\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

most likely, that oil or butter has not seen, nor ever been introduced to, a truffle.\u00a0 What is \u201cnatural truffle aroma\u201d?\u00a0 What is the \u201cessence of truffle?\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 True a truffle is made up of aroma compounds which include sulphides (one of which is 2,4 dithiapentane which has a garlicky aroma).\u00a0\u00a0 2,4 dithiapentane can be created in a lab.\u00a0 In other words, you may be paying big dollars for a product that you believe is aromatic because it has been infused with truffles that were uprooted by pigs and collected by a truffleteur.\u00a0 In reality, your oil has been infused with the contents of a laboratory beaker which was mixed like a cocktail by someone in a lab coat.\u00a0 In sum, make sure that the ingredient list actually identifies truffles as an ingredient (not merely \u201ctruffle aroma\u201d or something else equally as ambiguous and non-committal).\u00a0 A percentage should also be given to indicate the truffle quantity in relation to the other ingredients.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

what are truffles? and why do they cost so much money! Truffles are a subterranean fungus (although their botanical names identify them as a tuber) that grow near tree roots (primarily Oak).\u00a0\u00a0 Truffles are expensive primarily due to ever-increasing demand combined with an ever-increasingly low production.\u00a0 Combine that with their\u00a0 labor-intensive collection and their limited […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[60,56,59,61,58,43,57],"class_list":["post-61","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-recipes","tag-appearance","tag-black-diamond","tag-burgundy-truffles","tag-how-to-buy","tag-summer-truffles","tag-truffles","tag-white-truffles"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.chefmorgan.com\/engine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.chefmorgan.com\/engine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.chefmorgan.com\/engine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.chefmorgan.com\/engine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.chefmorgan.com\/engine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=61"}],"version-history":[{"count":18,"href":"https:\/\/www.chefmorgan.com\/engine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":390,"href":"https:\/\/www.chefmorgan.com\/engine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61\/revisions\/390"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.chefmorgan.com\/engine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=61"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.chefmorgan.com\/engine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=61"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.chefmorgan.com\/engine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=61"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}