OK, I've been to Trader Joes, I have an unopened White Truffle Oil bottle in front of me. They also had Black Truffle Oil so I really debated which one to buy since I understand white is from Italy and black from France. But, you all said white is better.

The description says that it is extra virgin olive oil infused with white truffles (tuber magnathum pico - if that helps with the allergy research) - which originates from Alba Italy. "With its strong, garlic-like aroma and flavor, this oil compliments pasta, meats and fish dishes."

I have eaten a piece of French bread to cleanse my palate. I have another piece here to put the oil on for tasting.

OK, I'm breaking the seal....I'm whiffing...welllll, smells a lot like olive oil and....mushrooms???? I'm soaking the bread with the oil....OMG I spilled it all over the keyboard...will my computer forever smell like tufffles??? If it is related to a skunk perhaps I could douse it with tomatoe juice... fake out....

OK, well, I definitely can taste the olive oil. I'm sorry, even when I soak the bread it still tastes like olive oil that is a little off. The after taste is a little odd. It isn't doing much for me especially since it was almost $9.00. Think I would rather have a good bottle of olive oil. Perhaps I need to put it on something else.

Cook some softly scrambled eggs mixed with a dollop of creme fraiche (also sold at TJ's) in olive oil or butter, slowly over a low heat. When done, drizzle some of the truffle oil on top and see what you think. (I had this for lunch today but instead of the truffle oil I sprinkled the truffle salt on top).

The quality is also dependent on the olive oil that is the base. If there is a next time look for a small bottle from the importer Urbani. And when you buy olive oil, make sure there is a date on th back of the bottle..now you should only buy oil dated 2005, although you will likely see older oil on the shelves in stores also.

I will try the eggs but right now I think a nice glass of white wine will really help enhance my tasting experience on this cold, wet dreary Friday afternoon in CA

Ronda

I'm not a big fan of Trader Joes. Quite often they sell stuff nobody else wants to carry. Most of the wine I've purchased there was dumped down my sink. You might try some from Whole Foods - I trust them more than TJs.

Stu Dudley

Stu---how much did you pay for that TJ wine you dumped down the sink? Nobody should drink "Two Buck Chuck" or a $4 Pinot Grigio! But they do have some nice wines in the higher price range---it's the best price I've found for Caymus Conundrum, a very nice white at around $20.

My truffle oil is from Williams Sonoma. I'll go home and try it tonight.

I scrambled an egg and put some of the oil on it. I think warming it up probably helped release some flavor. I even tasted it straight off a spoon. No way does it have a garlic flavor as it says on the back of the label.

I will definitely try truffle oil from somewhere else; Trader Joes just happened to be close today and I was anxious to see what it tasted like. To be continued......

My TJ sink episode was several years ago - maybe 12. The wines were probably in the $6-8 range then. That is a good price for the Caymus - and that's a very nice wine indeed.

Both of the wine merchants I buy most of our stuff from, say that if some distributor brings wine to their store that they merchant does not like - they tell the distribotor to go to Trader Joes - they will buy anything. When they first opened here, I bought wine from them on several occasions. Out of every 10 bottles I purchasd, about 7 were dumped down the sink. The only success I've had is with Italian whites. I was there once when I notiched a wine I liked on sale for about $3.50 - it was a St Aubin from France. Some of the corks were protruding out of the bottle, and the end of some of the cases were "singed". I bought a few bottles anyway. The wine was OK by itself, but at $3.50 it made a great Kir wine - it was a Burgundy, which is what Kirs are made from in France. I went back to Trader Joes & purchased 3 cases. A guy in front of me in line said "did you notice that many of the corks were sticking out and the end of the cases were singed"? I told him that I did, and I actually bought some of the wine earlier in the week and it was a great Kir wine. I ran into him again in the parking lot. He told me that he could not tell me this inside the store, but he works for the importer of that wine. One of their delivery trucks broke down with the St Aubin inside, and the refrigiration in the truck was knocked out and the wine "fried". He said the only people who would take the wine off their hands was Trader Joes.

I was in there about 5 year ago after I read in an article that they carries duck breasts - one of my favorites - at a very reasonable price - perhaps half of what I normally pay. I found the duck breasts, but they were frozen (not the way I usually buy them) and sealed in a vacuum pack (which is normal). I have frozen duck breasts before, and they turn out OK. I went back to buy duck breasts several months later, and they still had them but the vacuum packaging had failed on their entire supply, and it was therefore not vacuumed. Don't know whether the vacuum packs failed before or after they were frozen.

My wine merchant went there with his father. The father saw that they carried one of his favorite condiments, so he bought some. When the father got home and had some of the condiment, it tasted quite different than he had remembered, and it was not good at all. My wine merchant called the maker of the condiment, and they told him that they made one type of "lower priced" condiment for Trader Joes, and another for the other groceries.


Stu Dudley

I LOVE Trader Joe's; it has good things, especially frozen foods, that no one else in our area carries, and I'm addicted to the orange wheat bread for breakfast toast. I drive up to one of the nearby stores once a month and come home with bags and cooler chests full.

Very interesting information, Stu Dudley. I wonder if it varies by area? In other words, are the buyers local? We are in Washington (state), and I haven't seen these kinds of quality control problems with either food or wine we have bought there---but I'll check things carefully in the future.

It appears truffles are a mushroom:

http://www.wisegeek.com/what-are-tru...rch_kw=truffle

I once had shaved truffle on a pizza ! A very simple pizza, just some sage leaves, a thin smear of tomato sauce, and slices of buffalo mozzarella, and then the truffle at the last moment. Washed down with a Chianti Classico Riserva from Castellina ( can't remember the brand).

Hello Stu, could you explain to me exactly what the drink Kirs is. I have seen it mentioned so many times (also I believe Kir Royal?) Thank you.

I know Stu can eleborate further but basically, kir is white Burgundy with 1-2 Tbl creme de cassis added. If the base is Champagne instead of white wine, the drink is called a kir royale. I belive it takes it's name from a former mayor of Dijon.

Have to share my truffle story. We dined at Ristorante La Darsena in Santa Margharita last September. Fresh White Truffles from Alba on a sign posted outside lured us in. Freshly cooked pasta was tossed in a bowl carved from a wheel of Parmesano Reggiano. Once the pasta was coated with cheese, it was transferred to our plates. The waiter then shaved a fresh white truffle over each of our plates. Two truffles!!Heavenly. We had an appetizer, the truffle pasta, a fish course, dessert, and a bottle of wine. 143 Euros. That's less than the cost of one white truffle from Dean and Deluca. What an evening.

>>I know Stu can eleborate further<<

No need to - your explanation was perfect. At home I use Syrup of Cassis (blackcurrent syrup), which is non-alcaholic.

Stu Dudley

To draw the Kir/Truffle ideas together - at Buisson Ardent in the 5th we were served a house specialty Kir Royale which was made with champagne and a wine infused with truffle. The result was very tasty as it was not as sweet as the usual Kir Royale. I have discovered since that house versions of this apperitif are quite common and make having them at various restaurants even more fun. Strawberry, peach liquors are common. At Auberge de L'Ill the liquor added was Woodruff.
As to the portions - the traditional Kir was actually one-third cassis but most find this too sweet and strong. The one tablespoon to 5 ounces champagne/wine is about 1 to 10 and I find this pretty "weak". I make them 1 to 5 with satisfactory (for us and our guests) results.
Apologies - I seem to have gone on and on about one of my favorite subjects.

I don't really care for cassisas but I do like a kir royale made with peach liquor.

Well, before the spelling police come along - that should be cassis not cassisas.

In certain regions of France, they often make a Kir with Peach liqueur. In the Lot River area, we had several made with Chataigne - which is some sort of nut liqueur - perhaps chestnut??

We have a Kir at least 6 nights a week, going back for almost 30 years - jeeze - no wonder my blood suger is so high. We buy Cassis by the case from a local distributor (we're on his normal delivery route), and we use Woodbridge Chardonnay for the wine. I also make an excellent Magret de Canard with a cassis green peppercorn sauce.

Stu Dudley

Actually, I am a Bellini fan. In the summer when I can find sweet, ripe white peaches, I puree them, put in ice cube trays, and then plop a couple cubes in a glass of champagne. Not only does it taste good but keeps the champage cold so that I can slowwwwwwly drink it. I don't know if the frozen peach cubes would last long in the freezer because, of course, you wouldn't want to put any ascorbic acid in with the peaches to keep them from turning color.