Truffles Top the List of Culinary Delights According to Many Gourmets

Those with a highly refined palate and much experience in sampling meals from around the globe know that one of life’s simple pleasures may be found underground. Truffles are an exotic mushroom that can be found best by digging. Some even hunt for them with hogs that have been trained to find but not eat the delicacy. Whether the truffle is refined into oil that is used in cooking gourmet meals or simply steamed and eaten whole is decided by the country of origin and the pocket book of those who wish to dine on them. They are expensive because they are somewhat rare and can be difficult to find. There are many varieties of truffle that grow in various parts of the world.

The delicate flavor of truffles has a wide variety of uses

Delicate and delectable, the truffle is one of earth’s best kept secrets. How and where they grow is often kept secret because of their value and the fact they can be hard to find in many areas. They also grow in but a few areas of the world and finding them is a matter of knowing just where to look. They are available in either solid or liquid form with truffle oil being the more affordable way to buy and serve them. The oil provides flavoring as well as a delectable aroma when cooking and in many instances there may well be no truffles involved at all in making truffle oil. Synthetic flavorings, designed to duplicate the aroma of those expensive mushrooms are found to even fool many chefs who think they have the real thing. Truffle vodka is available at a premium price and is often infused with oils from black Period truffles then added to alcoholic spirits or used by chefs when cooking gourmet meals.

An “acquired taste”, truffles add their own distinctive flavor to the menu

Those who appreciate the pungent taste found in quality truffles know to use them sparingly in recipes. White truffles (Alba Madonna or Tuber magnatum) are most commonly grown in northern Italy and used in Italian dishes eaten in gourmet restaurants. Black truffles (Tuber melanosporum or the black Perigord) are traditionally found growing in the Perigord region of France and are considered milder in flavor than their cousins, the white variety. Additionally there is Burgundy or a Black summer truffle that grows throughout Europe and a truffle named Scorzone which is found in the U.S., particularly in the state of Oregon. They typically grow near pecan trees and while expensive, are not particularly equal in flavor to the European varieties.

The oil of truffles can be incorporated into a wide variety of recipes including anything commonly using olive oil and adding a distinctly superior flavoring that is found in gourmet cooking and high quality restaurants, particularly due to the much higher cost of items that use this decadent oil. Heating the oil only serves to heighten the aroma and flavor of truffle oils and thus the cost of dishes prepared using it. Vodka which has truffle oil is often considered to be an aphrodisiac and highly prized by connoisseurs who appreciate finer spirits.