Have you ever had white truffle? To get your hands on good truffle takes not only luck but an ample deal of money and in my case the wonders of white truffle were revealed to me absolutely because of the former, “luck”. A friend of mine is the senior chef at a famous five star hotel and on his promotion party he treated us to unbelievably addictive food including a wonderful baked  white truffle dish. As I had never consumed white truffle before I was extremely excited to be able to taste this gourmet ingredient for once and that too without having to pay for it!!! Unable to contain my curiosity I asked my friend how the white truffle is used in cooking and if such an expensive ingredient has any more uses to it and this is what I found:

What is a White Truffle?

The "white truffle" is also known as"Alba madonna" or by its scientific name Tuber magnatum. The white truffle with its pale cream or brown flesh with white marbling mostly grows symbiotically with oak, hazel, poplar and beech and usually fruits in autumn.

They can be found in the Langhe area of the Piedmont region in northern Italy, most famously from the countryside around the city Alba, Central Italy and in Croatia on the Istria peninsula in the Motovun forest alongside Mirna river. The ones that come from Piedmont are considered the best.

The size of white truffle range from hazelnuts to softballs, and the price increases for every ounce as the truffle gets bigger. The white truffle can reach a 12 cm diameter and a weight of 500 g, but often it is smaller than this. The city Alba (means white) produces some of the best and most expensive white truffles known to us.

Since they are extremely expensive they are used sparingly and is almost considered an exclusive ingredient for gourmet dishes. White truffle can be bought as fresh produce or preserved in brine form the market.

Buying and Storing White Truffle

When buying a truffle ensure that they are firm, compact and heavy and not spongy at all. The truffle has a distinct smell that you will not miss. Once purchased it should be stored without cleaning as the dirt keeps in the aroma. Remove the dirt right before using it.  Whne storing the white truffle, wrap it in paper towels, then aluminium foil and then refrigerate it but dont keep it stored for too long. Also, never store white truffle in rice as the rice will absorb the truffle's flavor.

Uses of White Truffle

Traditionally the white truffle is simple shaved finely, using a special truffle shaver, a mandoline or a very sharp knife, and eaten raw.   The shaved white truffle can be sprinkled over over steaming buttered pasta with parmesan, salads, scrambled eggs or a plain risotto.

A classic white truffle dish of Piedmont is the fonduta which basically has a fondue of fontina cheese, eggs, milk and shaved truffles, served with bread.:-)

White truffle can also be cooked. White truffle slices can be inserted into meats, under the skins of roasted fowl, in foie gras preparations, in pâtés, or used in stuffings. The dish we had at my friends expense was the Tartine di tartufo which had layers of baked sliced boiled potatoes, sliced white truffles, butter and Parmesan. Even some specialty cheeses contain truffles in them.

The White truffle oil is supposed to be made from olive oil and truffles. Though many types of truffles are used to make this oil the best known to gourmet cooks is the white truffle. The truffle oil which is used as a lower cost and convenient substitute for truffles is used to provide the distinct white truffle flavor and to enhance the flavor and aroma of the truffles already in the dish. But it is also true that most "truffle oil" does not contain truffles and is just majorly olive oil which is artificially flavored.

Tips

A 1.6-pound white truffle was sold in the market in Alba for $150,000 and just last year they were being sold at €10,200 per kilogram. The most expensive white truffle was a 1.5 Kg one which was sold for close to US$330,000.

A huge collection of food claiming to be flavored with white truffle has found its way into the market. Though these can be used as cheaper substitutes for the white truffle many chefs have questioned the goodness and authenticity of these products.

Image Credit

verygoodfood.dk/