Hm... I get the point they are making, but on the other hand I had a pizza with truffle at a pizzeria that according to the article was likely synthetic... But I really liked it. The labelling should definitely be clear and transparent, no question! However, there can probably be space for both, since I don't think my experience would be better without synthetic flavoring while also staying in a comparable price range.
One year ago I was in an Italian region famous for truffles in truffle season and went to a high level restaurant that specialized in truffles and meat.
After tasting different varieties I concluded I liked fake truffle taste more.
A lot more.
A simple spaghetti dish with real truffles tasted okay, but not as good as the one with fake truffle oil.
That's really interesting. For me, I very much do NOT enjoy the taste of truffles in restaurant dishes because it's often so overbearing. I just don't find the flavor interesting, and it's very singular.
Perhaps I would enjoy the "real" experience more...
A lot of restaurants also just overdo how much they add in an attempt to make it seem like they put a lot of truffles into the dish and so there's a strong aroma from the dish. Whenever I use it, in something like my attempts at a mushroom truffle risotto, I will usually use a drop or two for a whole pan. Maybe a little more if I plan to cook the dish for a while after, such as if I am making a sauce that will simmer for a bit. Usually even a teaspoon is too much.
Oh very interesting, as for me it is the complete opposite: I grew up only knowing real truffle and am now in a position where the fake stuff is just too intense for me, which is kinda sad as some "higher class" restaurants happily combine the two, to get you the look (eg by grating in front of you) and the taste (via some oil in the sauce)
I'd be very grateful if they started labelling it accordingly as they do it with other synthetic flavours (eg strawberry, GER)
Absolutely agree. Never been in a big truffle region (unless Oregon counts), but have had generously covered white and black truffle dishes from a Michelin ** restaurant. The real thing is very tasty, but the oil is better. Certainly not worth the price premium when you can get an incredible bottle of wine and an excellent pasta for less than a teal truffle dish.
I was so excited to make up some fake story about how I went to Italy and had real truffles on pasta. My story was almost identical to yours: coming out in favor of truffle oil!
In my past life, I was a chef. I owned a restaurant in Ireland. I only purchased the cheapest Chinese truffles money could buy. Why? People only want to taste the oil anyway. I've worked with high end white truffles and the flavor is very vague. I'd estimate that I've eaten several hundred grams of white truffle.
> In my past life, I was a chef. I owned a restaurant in Ireland. I only purchased the cheapest Chinese truffles money could buy. Why? People only want to taste the oil anyway. I've worked with high end white truffles and the flavor is very vague. I'd estimate that I've eaten several hundred grams of white truffle.
Doesnt that have a lot to do with region? I ask because I worked all over Europe and N. America during my chef days and I can definitely tell you that my stint in Croatia made me realize that truffles are not that highly regarded--I saw black ones thinly sliced on slices of $1.50 pizza slices at the bakery during the heavy season--when they are plentiful, and the oil was entirely non-existant. What wasn't used was canned and labeled a delicacy next to the little spreadable ham things that sold for like 80 cents back then.
While when I was in Italy you rarely saw them on menus outside of 100+ euro a menu places and typically only in season--I worked in mainly farm to tables is in the Emilia Romanga area so we got lots of parama ingredients all year round but truffles were a special occasion kind of affair that was limited to maybe 3 weeks or a so a year.
In London I just took it for granted that this was a marketing ploy to get the people in the city to justify the wildly expensive outings a reservation/menu cost, and in Cornwall they didn't even care about them at all. Germany, and Switzerland were pretty much the same.
I didn't have truffle oil until I got back to the US, and it was used for innocuous things like fries in a steak frites entree.
Another way to tell if you're being had, I believe only white truffle actually contains dithiapentane or the flavor it mimics. So, if you're eating black truffles and it has that strong, distinctive "truffle oil" gas-garlic flavor, it's definitely added flavoring. The real thing is quite mild but definitely noticeable, especially the white variety. I'm one of those people that can't stand the fake flavoring. Luckily I'm currently living in an Italian truffle region and can get the real thing. As the article suggests, the best way to use real truffle is with a mild dish that can carry but not overwhelm the flavor, e.g. tajarin al tartufo (which I think was actually one of the images in the article).
> Some will compare the difference between the natural flavor of truffles and the artificial truffle flavor with the difference between sex and sniffing dirty panties.
After reading these sorts of articles I'm not sure anymore but...
I'm pretty sure I've had real truffle as well as artificial truffle. The real truffle is a "softer" more mild flavor that's hard to explain, that's vaguely similar to artificial flavor but different. I want to say it's more herbal or woody and less garlicy but who knows if those are the right words.
The real truffle was sort of surprising to me and took some time to think about but was something I didn't have to "acquire".
The artificial flavor I also like but that did take some getting used to, sort of. I had the real truffle first and didn't know the artificial was artificial so that might have something to do with it.
One thing is artificial truffle oil you should use very sparingly, like maybe one drop for a multiserving dish. One problem I think is that over time people have increased the amount used to too much and it's the intensity more than anything that turns people off.
Honestly as I write this I'm confused about what I've had. I've had things that were natural truffle, things that I'm not sure about, things that in hindsight that were probably artificial and good, and things that were artificial and bad, that I attributed to overflavoring but might have been a poorly produced product?
I liked the article but think it's too hostile to anything that isnt traditional European truffle. There are many different truffles and I think certain oils can be pretty good if used as intended.
It's hard to say if you just don't like truffle. I can see that — it's a bit like "do you like mushrooms?" I do think someone who doesn't like artificial oil might like natural truffle, and I also think there are probably better and worse artificial truffle oils out there.
> One thing is artificial truffle oil you should use very sparingly, like maybe one drop for a multiserving dish. … it's the intensity more than anything that turns people off.
First of all thanks for the long comment, makes sense.
Referring to the above quoted text, that makes a lot of sense. I’m ashamed to say this but I was trying to use it as dipping oil with bread. :D
When I open the bottle, it just hits, which is where your comment about intensity comes in. But I can imagine that in the right recipe a drop here or there might add some unique flavor, just like garlic.
Interestingly that conflicts when I see people shaving it on dishes, but it seems that the flavor gets concentrated in oil.
I’ll have to experiment. Luckily I didn’t return or throw it, we still have it, so can try again.
i don't know why it's suddenly popular on the internet to hate on truffle oil, most people i know like it and don't care if it's "fake". it's an easy and cheap way to add an extra layer of interesting flavour to a dish as long as you use a sensible amount of it and don't overpower everything else.
But some of it is that it's often not well used. As you say, it's easy and cheap. But often, it comes at a considerable upcharge, building on the halo glow of the price of truffles.
And part of it is that it stops being interesting when it's everywhere. Many "foodies" seek novelty -- in ingredients, in preparation, in presentation, etc. At one time truffle oil was itself a novelty, but now it's extremely common, and still presented as if it were a culinary achievement.
Truffle oil is hard to combine well with other flavors. It tends to get added to relatively straightforward dishes, literally meat-and-potatoes. So it's an interesting flavor by itself, but you rapidly run the gamut of its uses.
I expect to see it diminish on menus as some other flavor fad takes over. That's great -- it'll still find uses, but not so much that everything tastes the same.
When they say that fake truffle oil has a "intense gas-like aroma," do they mean that literally? Truffle oil doesn't smell/taste like gasoline to me at all
It's not exactly like gas, but it's not not like gas... there's something distinctly petrochemical-like about it and also garlicky, which makes sense since dithiapentane and allicin (the primary component of garlic aroma) are both organosulfur compounds.
The petrochemical-like aroma is probably due to the sulfur in the dithiapentane.
I've noticed that if used at room-ish temperature, most decent truffle oils don't have a strong sulfur-based smell, but if cooked, say on a pizza or a french fry where the temperature gets relatively high, I think some of the dithiapentane might degrade into stuff that's more more reminiscent of petroleum products.
>>I think some of the dithiapentane might degrade into stuff that's more more reminiscent of petroleum products.
Seems very likely, considering the process of refining or"cracking" oil into usable products is based on temperature and pressure, and organic compounds in general have different reactivity at different temperatures. In cooking with oils, one of the key properties to consider is their "smoke temperature", above which they will not be cooking your food but smoking and ruining the flavor, so you must select an oil that is good at higher temps than you need to cook the other ingredients. So, it wouldn't be at all surprising if there's a threshold temperature that will break or re-combine the molecules of this artificial "truffle oil" in a way that ruins it.
Hm... I get the point they are making, but on the other hand I had a pizza with truffle at a pizzeria that according to the article was likely synthetic... But I really liked it. The labelling should definitely be clear and transparent, no question! However, there can probably be space for both, since I don't think my experience would be better without synthetic flavoring while also staying in a comparable price range.
One year ago I was in an Italian region famous for truffles in truffle season and went to a high level restaurant that specialized in truffles and meat.
After tasting different varieties I concluded I liked fake truffle taste more.
A lot more.
A simple spaghetti dish with real truffles tasted okay, but not as good as the one with fake truffle oil.
Reminds me of how many people prefer artificial vanilla to the genuine thing in blind taste tests.
Yeah vanilla was the second example I could think of.
That's really interesting. For me, I very much do NOT enjoy the taste of truffles in restaurant dishes because it's often so overbearing. I just don't find the flavor interesting, and it's very singular.
Perhaps I would enjoy the "real" experience more...
A lot of restaurants also just overdo how much they add in an attempt to make it seem like they put a lot of truffles into the dish and so there's a strong aroma from the dish. Whenever I use it, in something like my attempts at a mushroom truffle risotto, I will usually use a drop or two for a whole pan. Maybe a little more if I plan to cook the dish for a while after, such as if I am making a sauce that will simmer for a bit. Usually even a teaspoon is too much.
Oh very interesting, as for me it is the complete opposite: I grew up only knowing real truffle and am now in a position where the fake stuff is just too intense for me, which is kinda sad as some "higher class" restaurants happily combine the two, to get you the look (eg by grating in front of you) and the taste (via some oil in the sauce)
I'd be very grateful if they started labelling it accordingly as they do it with other synthetic flavours (eg strawberry, GER)
Couldn’t you just add less of the intense stuff?
I feel like they probably over do it so you can specifically taste it rather than let it blend in at a normal level.
Absolutely agree. Never been in a big truffle region (unless Oregon counts), but have had generously covered white and black truffle dishes from a Michelin ** restaurant. The real thing is very tasty, but the oil is better. Certainly not worth the price premium when you can get an incredible bottle of wine and an excellent pasta for less than a teal truffle dish.
Oh man, you totally beat me to it!
I was so excited to make up some fake story about how I went to Italy and had real truffles on pasta. My story was almost identical to yours: coming out in favor of truffle oil!
In my past life, I was a chef. I owned a restaurant in Ireland. I only purchased the cheapest Chinese truffles money could buy. Why? People only want to taste the oil anyway. I've worked with high end white truffles and the flavor is very vague. I'd estimate that I've eaten several hundred grams of white truffle.
> In my past life, I was a chef. I owned a restaurant in Ireland. I only purchased the cheapest Chinese truffles money could buy. Why? People only want to taste the oil anyway. I've worked with high end white truffles and the flavor is very vague. I'd estimate that I've eaten several hundred grams of white truffle.
Doesnt that have a lot to do with region? I ask because I worked all over Europe and N. America during my chef days and I can definitely tell you that my stint in Croatia made me realize that truffles are not that highly regarded--I saw black ones thinly sliced on slices of $1.50 pizza slices at the bakery during the heavy season--when they are plentiful, and the oil was entirely non-existant. What wasn't used was canned and labeled a delicacy next to the little spreadable ham things that sold for like 80 cents back then.
While when I was in Italy you rarely saw them on menus outside of 100+ euro a menu places and typically only in season--I worked in mainly farm to tables is in the Emilia Romanga area so we got lots of parama ingredients all year round but truffles were a special occasion kind of affair that was limited to maybe 3 weeks or a so a year.
In London I just took it for granted that this was a marketing ploy to get the people in the city to justify the wildly expensive outings a reservation/menu cost, and in Cornwall they didn't even care about them at all. Germany, and Switzerland were pretty much the same.
I didn't have truffle oil until I got back to the US, and it was used for innocuous things like fries in a steak frites entree.
Another way to tell if you're being had, I believe only white truffle actually contains dithiapentane or the flavor it mimics. So, if you're eating black truffles and it has that strong, distinctive "truffle oil" gas-garlic flavor, it's definitely added flavoring. The real thing is quite mild but definitely noticeable, especially the white variety. I'm one of those people that can't stand the fake flavoring. Luckily I'm currently living in an Italian truffle region and can get the real thing. As the article suggests, the best way to use real truffle is with a mild dish that can carry but not overwhelm the flavor, e.g. tajarin al tartufo (which I think was actually one of the images in the article).
> Some will compare the difference between the natural flavor of truffles and the artificial truffle flavor with the difference between sex and sniffing dirty panties.
Maybe it depends on what you can afford.
So that's why we get so many stuff with truffle these days, when very few existed 10 years ago and were not cheap
Have never had truffle. Is it universally liked or is it an acquired taste?
Got truffle oil, with black truffle, from Costco. It was one of the most vile thing I’ve ever tasted.
Either I don’t have the genes to like truffle or it was some fake shit.
After reading these sorts of articles I'm not sure anymore but...
I'm pretty sure I've had real truffle as well as artificial truffle. The real truffle is a "softer" more mild flavor that's hard to explain, that's vaguely similar to artificial flavor but different. I want to say it's more herbal or woody and less garlicy but who knows if those are the right words.
The real truffle was sort of surprising to me and took some time to think about but was something I didn't have to "acquire".
The artificial flavor I also like but that did take some getting used to, sort of. I had the real truffle first and didn't know the artificial was artificial so that might have something to do with it.
One thing is artificial truffle oil you should use very sparingly, like maybe one drop for a multiserving dish. One problem I think is that over time people have increased the amount used to too much and it's the intensity more than anything that turns people off.
Honestly as I write this I'm confused about what I've had. I've had things that were natural truffle, things that I'm not sure about, things that in hindsight that were probably artificial and good, and things that were artificial and bad, that I attributed to overflavoring but might have been a poorly produced product?
I liked the article but think it's too hostile to anything that isnt traditional European truffle. There are many different truffles and I think certain oils can be pretty good if used as intended.
It's hard to say if you just don't like truffle. I can see that — it's a bit like "do you like mushrooms?" I do think someone who doesn't like artificial oil might like natural truffle, and I also think there are probably better and worse artificial truffle oils out there.
> One thing is artificial truffle oil you should use very sparingly, like maybe one drop for a multiserving dish. … it's the intensity more than anything that turns people off.
First of all thanks for the long comment, makes sense.
Referring to the above quoted text, that makes a lot of sense. I’m ashamed to say this but I was trying to use it as dipping oil with bread. :D
When I open the bottle, it just hits, which is where your comment about intensity comes in. But I can imagine that in the right recipe a drop here or there might add some unique flavor, just like garlic.
Interestingly that conflicts when I see people shaving it on dishes, but it seems that the flavor gets concentrated in oil.
I’ll have to experiment. Luckily I didn’t return or throw it, we still have it, so can try again.
Imagine you buy a jar of vanilla extract without ever having had vanilla before…and try a spoonful.
You would absolutely hate it. Yet, vanilla is fairly universally liked by people everywhere…
i don't know why it's suddenly popular on the internet to hate on truffle oil, most people i know like it and don't care if it's "fake". it's an easy and cheap way to add an extra layer of interesting flavour to a dish as long as you use a sensible amount of it and don't overpower everything else.
Much of it, of course, is just plain snobbery.
But some of it is that it's often not well used. As you say, it's easy and cheap. But often, it comes at a considerable upcharge, building on the halo glow of the price of truffles.
And part of it is that it stops being interesting when it's everywhere. Many "foodies" seek novelty -- in ingredients, in preparation, in presentation, etc. At one time truffle oil was itself a novelty, but now it's extremely common, and still presented as if it were a culinary achievement.
Truffle oil is hard to combine well with other flavors. It tends to get added to relatively straightforward dishes, literally meat-and-potatoes. So it's an interesting flavor by itself, but you rapidly run the gamut of its uses.
I expect to see it diminish on menus as some other flavor fad takes over. That's great -- it'll still find uses, but not so much that everything tastes the same.
When they say that fake truffle oil has a "intense gas-like aroma," do they mean that literally? Truffle oil doesn't smell/taste like gasoline to me at all
I wonder if they are talking about the smell added to natural gas, rather than talking about the smell of gasoline
That's my thought as well.
It's not exactly like gas, but it's not not like gas... there's something distinctly petrochemical-like about it and also garlicky, which makes sense since dithiapentane and allicin (the primary component of garlic aroma) are both organosulfur compounds.
The petrochemical-like aroma is probably due to the sulfur in the dithiapentane.
I've noticed that if used at room-ish temperature, most decent truffle oils don't have a strong sulfur-based smell, but if cooked, say on a pizza or a french fry where the temperature gets relatively high, I think some of the dithiapentane might degrade into stuff that's more more reminiscent of petroleum products.
>>I think some of the dithiapentane might degrade into stuff that's more more reminiscent of petroleum products.
Seems very likely, considering the process of refining or"cracking" oil into usable products is based on temperature and pressure, and organic compounds in general have different reactivity at different temperatures. In cooking with oils, one of the key properties to consider is their "smoke temperature", above which they will not be cooking your food but smoking and ruining the flavor, so you must select an oil that is good at higher temps than you need to cook the other ingredients. So, it wouldn't be at all surprising if there's a threshold temperature that will break or re-combine the molecules of this artificial "truffle oil" in a way that ruins it.
So a better name for 'snake oil' would be 'truffle oil'...
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