Out of curiosity: Is there anyone who likes truffles, but dislikes other fancy mushrooms like morels? If the flavor of truffle is anything like a morel, then I know not to waste my money.
Truffles taste nothing like any mushroom. I don’t believe they are technically mushrooms, in fact - they’re the fruiting body of a symbiotic tree/fungus organism.
+1
I dined at Alinea and they had multiple truffle dishes and I eventually stopped eating them. The stuff is nasty.
I concur that truffles taste nothing like mushrooms. They are clumped together because they are both fungi but I would use the analogy that an apple and an orange don’t taste similar even though they are both fruit.
They ARE both earthy and exude a sense of umami, but other than that, I think they are very different.
nm
In the prior thread I linked to, someone was saying that about 1/3 of people can’t taste them, 1/3 of people go wild from them, and 1/3 of people think they taste like ass. A bit like cilantro. Unfortunately no cite was provided though the WSJ (?) was mentioned.
Ah, truffles. Along with foie gras, sweetbreads and caviar among the foods I most enjoy eating/smelling but can’t afford. That’s one thing I definitely miss about the restaurant business…free samples (scooby snacks)!
Truffles are indescribably aromatic. Intoxicatingly so.
I’m sensing some cognitive dissonance there with your screenname…
I notice a similarity to a mushroom scent, and the first time I used it at home my daughter asked me if I was cooking mushrooms.
It must be evil like chocolate cake is sinful.
I am one of those for whom it tastes like ass. At best a kind of oily-mushroomy-rich-dirt taste, at worst like, well, poo. One of very few foods I’m super not-keen on (uni is one other, to get a baseline).
The right truffle in the right amounts in the right dish is a taste to remember all your life.
And I mean that in a good way.
I love truffles too, but my first experiance tasted like jellied dirt.
FYI, all mushrooms that you eat are fruiting bodies of the much larger underground (or inter tree) mycelium.
Mushrooms taste very different from one to the other. my gf and her parents are cray about morels and have hundreds if not thousands dried in the pantry from the last two bumper crop years. I far prefer the chanterelles that grow around here and the porcini that grow out in CO.
I am ok with hen of the woods (maitake) which grow abundantly near me but don’t care for the taste or texture of chicken of the woods (sulfur shelf).
I’ve used a truffle salt that was so aromatic I had to keep it inside a second container. A little truffle goes a long way.
Thanks to this thread, I dreamed about eating these things. And I still remember what they tasted like in my dream. I wonder if they will taste the way I dreamed.
Just found this thread, so sorry I’m late to the party.
I had never had anything resembling or pretending to be truffles or truffle-y until this past Monday. Had the macaroni and cheese @ Serendipity 3 in Las Vegas, supposedly with “truffle essence.” I’m guessing that’s the synthetic truffle oil, but that’s just a guess. Anyway, it was the BEST mac & cheese I’ve ever had in my life. I couldn’t tell you why, it just was. And I grew up on and love Kraft.
My mother, who can’t stand mushrooms, and will only cook with Campbell’s Cream of Mushroom soup if it’s been blended to remove any resemblance to mushrooms, was hesitant. Then she tasted it. She LIKED it.
Then she gave me the leftovers to take home. Then she asked for some back if I hadn’t eaten it all.
If it truly is truffles or “truffle essence” that made the difference, I’m hooked!
truffle oil is flavored with synthetic agent such as dithiapentane. it may have a few small little morsels of truffle at the bottom but it is not the main way they flavor it. (too expensive)
Truffle oil is an Abomination Unto Nuggan. Truffles, OTOH, are divine. One of my all-time favorite appetizers is at Sinatra in Las Vegas, where they occasionally have Truffled Fettucini, done in a light butter sauce with shaved at the table truffles on top. Last time I had it the waiter said “Say when” and started shaving. My reply was “Stop when it becomes obscene.” 
I like zombie threads because I missed them the first time around. 
Truffles grow on my land and I hunt them sometimes, both black and white varieties. I agree with others who have described the flavor as oily and earthy. In fact, I can always tell when I’m in a vein by the scent. To me, they almost smell like turpentine, in a subtle way.
They are very distinctive. I don’t get garlic at all and only a little mushroom scent. I do find they are enhanced by butter and are a natural match with scrambled eggs. They are also lovely in a non-citrus risotto.
I have found if you harvest them too late, they lose their charm.