truffle salt

to the connoisseur, this will be old news. but i believe many people have yet to discover the wonderful flavour of truffles, or truffle salt – not to mention truffle oil. first and foremost, you have to love truffles to even appreciate its extended family. no, we’re not talking chocolate truffles here, but the little ugly mushrooms-like truffles that grow on the roots of certain trees.

if you are unfamiliar with truffles, this is what i’d first ask you: do you like mushrooms? if your answer is yes, then i’d say: it’s a very potent, earthy flavoured mushroom. now remember, i’m no fancy gourmet person with vocabulary that most don’t understand. i like to explain things the way i like them explained to me. simple. if the answer is no, then there are two possible routes: if you don’t like the taste of mushrooms, forget it. i can almost guaranty you will hate truffles. however, if the texture is what you dislike, then we have an in! unless you bite into a whole truffle (positively unlikely) you most probably will enjoy truffles.

if you want to venture into this new territory, the best and easiest way to acquaint yourself inexpensively is to buy a little bottle of truffle oil and drip it onto potatoes, french fries, steak or chicken, or on simple pasta (without tomato sauce). if you are enjoying that, then you’re likely to be hooked! the next step is salt and the actual truffles themselves. (one must know that most truffles lose a lot of their flavour in the process of being packaged. therefore, the oil and salt are a great way to infuse the flavour without expensive disappointments)*

 

this is a very fine salt, and the little black nuggets you see are actual dried truffle bits. it is the first one i ever tasted and i was instantly addicted. i didn’t even wince when i paid $25 for this tiny jar of 100g. i guaranty it, if you like truffles you will love this salt!

this second one is a fleur de sel with larger bits of dried truffles. i got it in paris and was complitely delighted with the quality and flavour. as you can see, the salt is much more coarse so you must account for that (ie. you’d want to give it time to 'melt' on your food a little).

truffle & salt

from selection favuzzi, casina rossa

about $25 ($23 at the gourmet warehouse)

100g

fleur de sel à la truffe

from terre exotique

about 9.50€  |  price unknown in canada

60g

having said all this, please enjoy it! if you haven’t yet tried it on your fries, it’s heaven! and on yam fries, double-heaven! there are so many things it can enhance! please don’t forget to share your favourite experience!

*a note on fresh truffles: unfortunately they are almost impossible to find in north america. possibly the grand chefs have an in on them, but for the rest of us we must resort to processed and packaged ones. as a food manager once admitted, those are mostly decorative; meaning that they have little flavour left, if any. so the infused oils and special salts are the way to go to re-infuse the truffles with their rich flavour. some salsas and purees are also very good for that same reason. however if you have the chance to be in france or italy at the time of their picking, try and get your hands on a fresh one. they are fairly expensive so if you don’t intend to buy, at least ask for a sniff... it’ll make your head spin!