Underhill, is that true ? about not everyone being able to taste or smell truffles ? If so, I may be in that category, for ever since hearing about truffles and the accompanying raves, I've never been able to discern what all the fuss was about. I've always put it down to my under developed senses, but now, maybe not...

In light of the foregoing posts however, perhaps I'll invest in a bottle of white truffle oil this weekend and give it a last shot.

I found one truffle shop in St. Remy:

Terre de truffes
The celebrated Bruno de Lorgues has opened this classy and sober new gourmet shop next to the "Olive du Monde" boutique. Every kind of truffle and truffle derivation, black or white, fresh or preserved... the critter adapts to thousands of variations.
Vieux chemin d'Arles
Quartier du Grès
Saint-Rémy-de-Provence - 13210

I love the description: the critter adapts to thousands of variations. lol

Fortnum's do a very good white truffle butter which is just as it sounds...white truffle in a butter. Excellent as a spread or simply use in sauces.

Truffle sauces are relatively inexpensive (compared to an huge truffle itself) at around 8GBP for a black truffle sauce that can be extended with butter and/or cream.

They have a fabulously distinctive flavour, and have always been a favourite of mine.

I'm not a fan of truffle oils as for sauces, butter is always much richer and creamier, so their capacity for cooking is limited...they're for "drizzling".

I know what pancetta is, but he was referring to "panchetta pasta" and someone else also used that name. Do you think they were talking about pancetta?

Obviously a typo which I in turn copied.

My friend brought me truffes cheese a few times that he bougtht at a morning market. Small slices of black truffes are in the cheese and cheese itself gets lots of flavor from them. Go well with aperitif drinks (and actually we ate it along with radish) .

my spelling is terrible.

I've dined at Bruno's - didn't have truffles, however.

Low quality truffles are not tasty at all - not much different from ordinary mushrooms. I've had a truffle "piece" in foie gras, and could not even tell it was there. A fesh white truffle, on the other hand, will knock your socks off. For those people who can't understand all the attention to truffles, they may have never experienced a good truffle. We were in a restaurant in Italy, when all of a sudden this pungent smell hit all four of us at once. About a minute later, the waiter walked out from the kitchen into our dining room with a huge truffle. We could smell it from another room with the door closed.

I used the "skunk" term because that's kinda what happened to us the first time we served a fresh white Italian truffle at home. We had the $90 truffle for dinner - just the two of us. We only ate about two-thirds of the truffle and put the remainder back in the rice container (which I later learned is not the correct thing to do) and left the container on the countertop. We went upstairs to bed, and we both awoke a while later and though a skunk must have let off their aroma close to our house. We went downstairs & discovered it was not a skunk - but the aroma from the truffle that woke us up.

Stu Dudley

Not meaning to hijack the thread, so please forgive me, but this post made me think of a question...

I'll be in Italy in October (Rome and Tuscany), and as much as I love them, I'm allergic to mushrooms. I plan to laminate an index card with "I'm allergic to mushrooms" in Italian, in case I mess up the pronounciation!

Is cooking with truffle oil something I should be worried about? What I mean is, are the places we dine likely to indicate that truffle oil is being used in the cooking?

I would assume that since I'm allergic to mushrooms I would also have a problem with truffle oil.

Again, didn't mean to hijack the thread, but I wanted to ask this while it was fresh in my mind.

Thanks so much!

You should ask your doctor if your allergy to mushrooms indicates you are also allergic to truffles. You can add the word to your laminated card: "tartufo"

That said, most dishes that use truffles are not only clearly marked, the price is astronomical!

(There is an ice cream called tartufo that you needn't worry about. It got the name for looking like a black truffle, since it is a round ball covered with dark chocolate.)

I'm going to agree with the above posters who say that poor quality or off-season truffles, especially black truffles, are surprisingly tasteless and unfragrant. They are really not worth the price.

The first time I tasted fresh truffles was in Milan in early October, when I ordered a very simple pasta with butter and truffles as a first dish. The fresh truffle was shaved onto my hot pasta at the table, and every head in the restaurant turned at the first whiff of the fragrance.

I'm not sure you can carry truffles back to the US, but if you can, I wouldn't pack them with anything else, unless you want to smell like a truffle everywhere you go.

Truffles are not mushrooms - however, check with your doctor, like ness advised. Truffle oil is not used as a cooking oil - it's drizzled on a dish (like a soup, or pasta) just before serving.

Stu Dudley

I suppose it depends what you mean by "mushroom", but a truffle is the fruiting body of a fungus---as is a mushrooom. The major difference is that truffles grow underground, not above, and bear their spores on the interior, instead of opening up in typical mushroom shape. I would think that anyone allergic to "mushrooms" should be wary of truffles.

However, Pantelia probably doesn't have to worry about ambush by truffles---given their value and the esteem they are due, I would expect that any dish with truffles or finished with truffle oil would say so on the menu.

Mathieu,

Yes, it's true--apparently about 20% of us don't react to the fragrance of truffles.

I plan to check with my doctor, and do appreciate every response! Thanks so much!

This is fascinating! I never knew that some people can't smell or taste truffles. It's such a strong aroma and taste.

Well, we are not all the same. My most UNfavorite food in the world is yogurt, nasty, nasty!

Not really related to the original question, but, supposedly, a great way to store fresh truffles is stashed in uncooked arborio rice. When the rice begins to stick, it's time to finish the truffle! What you do with the rice, well that's up to you . . . . sounds like risotto to me. I'm getting hungry!

Truffle eggs start with storing truffles in an egg carton with the raw eggs, all within a plastic bag. The eggs, when used will be infused with truffle essence.
If you want to experience truffles in Paris I recommend La Truffiere. I believe there was even a dessert with truffles.

How long does truffle oil keep with good flavor? Should it be refrigerated? I don't refrigerate olive oil, so I haven't put the (small) bottle of truffle oil in there either. Is it ruined? Thanks.

Italian truffles -- a subject dear to my heart and stomach! A wonderful Italian truffle cheese is Sottocenare. We were lucky enough to be near Valtopina in Umbria for the truffle festival in November 2004, and this November we're going back to Valtopina and also to Le Marche for a few weeks and two truffle festivals. I can almost smell and taste them!

I don't refrigerate my truffle oil and never had a problem. Of course, it doesn't last all that long as my husband douses anything and everything with it.

You don't need to refrigerate truffle oil, which is usually olive oil with truffle flavors. But, like olive oil, you should use it within 18 months or so. It will not be spoiled after that but the flavors will diminish. But if the base is grapeseed oil (more likely for truffle oil from SW France) you ought to keep it in the refrigerator to avoid spoilage.