So I’ve wanted to try cooking with real truffles for awhile now, and yesterday when I was browsing the internet I came across an ad for ‘black summer truffles’ imported from Italy: 2 oz. for $109. That seemed like a lot, so I found another site that offered 2 oz. of ‘black summer truffles’ for $55. I did not buy any as of yet.
Here are some questions:
Is 2 oz. of ‘black summer truffles’ for $55 a good price?
Are ‘black summer truffles’ any good? I don’t know much about types of truffles.
How much is 2oz. of truffles-- is that too small an amount for say, a meal for 4 people, or does a little truffle go a long way?
I figure I’d make a nice seafood risotto and add shaved truffles on top. Is that a good choice, or is the flavor of truffles too much for seafood?
I would be wary of buying something like that from an unknown seller, because it’s perishable and if you’re not familiar with it, you might not recognize when it’s spoiled or not what it claims to be. Checking the Costco website (because it’s a reliable vendor), they have four ounces of “fresh summer truffles” for $99.99. So the second offer you received is at least in line with that. If you can find a gourmet market in your area, you might instead buy the truffles locally.
I can’t offer any advice about the buying part, but I can offer this up: black summer truffles from Italy are FUCKING DELICIOUS. I’ve been over there a few times in truffle season and restaurants add all kinds of truffle specials to their menus; I’ve never had a bad truffle dish in season there. Many restaurants will come over the table with the truffle and shave it onto your dish to finish plating. Heaven! I’ve had steak with truffles, tagliatelle with truffles, gnocchi with truffles, even pizza with truffles.
Last time I was there I bought some truffle salt to bring home. I’ve been putting it on steaks and popcorn. It’s tasty, but not quite “truffle-y” enough for me.
Yeah, it seems that no substitute or preservation method comes close to fresh truffles, or so I’ve heard. I don’t have much experience with the fresh fungi, but I’ve tried containers of chopped truffles preserved in olive oil and it was like a ghost of truffle flavor.
I know a lot of chefs look down on truffle oil, but I picked up a 2-pack of Truff brand white and black truffle oil, and it’s actually very good (at least to my palate, inexperienced to the joy of fresh truffles):
I tried truffle oil at home on some dishes, but it didn’t do a lot for me - in fact, I think there is a 1/2 full bottle hanging out at the back of my pantry somewhere. Truff also makes some pasta sauces - I tried their marinara (I believe) with black truffle and it was excellent (but very expensive!).
A marinara? Interesting…I would have thought that maybe a tomato-based sauce might overwhelm the taste of the truffles. But then, Truff makes a hot sauce with truffle-infused flavor, which I haven’t tried, but doesn’t sound like it would be a very good pairing.
Keep in mind the big dollar truffles are imported from Southern and Central Europe
Black truffle - Tuber melanosporum
Summer truffle - Tuber aestivum
White truffle - Tuber magnatum
There are also North American varieties, particularly in the PNW.
Oregon black truffle - Leucangium carthusianum
Oregon (spring) white truffle - Tuber gibbosum
Oregon (winter) white truffle - Tuber oregonense
They don’t enjoy the same culinary cachet. I’m no connoisseur so cannot comment. But make sure the cheaper ones you found aren’t the “less desirable” variety, or worse, intentionally mislabeled. Or get yourself a dog and make a trip out to Oregon to get your own.
For cooking, some people love them and some people don’t, so you might want to shave off some and add more if you think it needs it.
From my limited truffle-adjacent experiences, with truffle oil, and a jar I bought online consisting of little pieces of preserved truffle in olive oil, I’m sure I will love real, fresh truffles.
