E-Paper
Gourmet Secrets: A taste of sex and old love affairs
The heady aroma of truffles can create an addiction that is hard to break
When you say the word “truffle”, I am always confused about whether you are referring to that black, ugly, sexy smelling tuber, or a chocolate. The chocolate actually took its name from the tuber, because it had the same shape and colour and was a far later invention.
Truffles, like caviar and other exorbitantly-priced delicacies, have a huge fan following and an equal amount of people who can’t seem to see what all the fuss is all about. The original truffle is the underground fungus of a tuber, prized by gastronomes of several millennia for its ineffable perfume and its supposed aphrodisiac qualities.
A vegetarian caviar
There are two major varieties of truffle: the black truffle, which comes from Perigord in France and Tuscany and Umbria in Italy, and the white one from Alba in Piedmont in north-west Italy. Fresh truffles are eaten raw, thinly sliced over pasta, risotto and salads, and are especially good in anything with butter and cheese! Traditionally they are gathered wild in late autumn and are commonly found in the soil under oak trees. What everybody seems to know is that they are sought out using specially trained noses of pigs, but more commonly dogs today.
I love both the flavour and the wonderful heady, leathery aroma of black truffle especially, although the white one is considered the ultimate. For mortals like me who want to enjoy these sensations and the essence of truffle, there are a couple of products which fit the bill. One is truffle oil. Good truffle oil is made by simply dropping some truffle shavings into a bottle of extra virgin olive oil. I have however bought truffle oil, which has been impregnated with essence. This is completely useless since it loses its fragrance very quickly.
The second product is truffle salsa, which is a mix of chopped truffles and black olives in olive oil. This is both affordable and very useable. For a Sunday morning indulgence, I ladle a huge dollop of it on top of poached eggs and buttery brown bread. Truffles are undoubtedly becoming the ‘in’ food for 2018. For vegetarians, they are the ultimate luxury – a caviar of sorts – a delectable exotic tasting condiment which represents the high life.
All-in-one fungus
I thought Tuscany was full of Renaissance magic, rolling hills and olive groves until I heard about the all year round crop of truffles. They differ from season to season in size and intensity but they are 100 per cent the real deal. I met Silvia Landucci who runs a family business called Boscovivo. Her family were one of the first to develop interesting products around truffles, which allows them to be used in various dishes. This means that we can all enjoy the heady irresistible aroma and flavour of truffles at a much more affordable price.
We experimented with truffle oil drizzled on croutons; truffle salt tossed with French fries (amazing); tartufata salsa made with truffle oil and black olives, (also amazing on poached eggs). Boscovivo produces the best truffle honey I have ever tasted. This is a fantastic accompaniment to cheese. And truffle carpaccio is slices of truffle in olive oil, excellent with toasted bread.
Creative chefs in India have started stuffing kulchas with truffle and truffle oil, and even adding them to edamame in dim sums!
Sex on a plate
Like all addictions, it’s hard to say why and what all the fuss is about except that it is a contagious passion. Chefs are another brotherhood who are completely hooked. The black truffle, they say, smells like sex, while the white one is said to have an aroma which is a combination of newly ploughed soil and the pungent memory of lost youth and old love affairs!
The chef who has really put truffles on the gourmet food map must be Daniel Boulud. He has several fine dining restaurants across the US, but rose to fame internationally for his creation, the DB burger served at DB Bistro Moderne in West 44th street, in New York. This contains short rib of beef, foie gras and black truffle. At $31 a pop, it’s an affordable decadent treat.
In the interests of journalism alone (yeah!), I repeated the experience recently at Bar Boulud in London where it is known as the BB burger. The same memorable experience all over again.
Author Bio: Culinary expert and explorer Karen Anand has been writing extensively on the subject of food and wine for 30 years. Apart from having her own brand of gourmet food products, she has anchored top rated TV shows, run a successful chain of food stores, founded the hugely successful Farmers Markets, and worked as restaurant consultant for international projects, among other things. Her latest passion is food tours, a totally curated experience which Karen herself accompanies, the first of which was to Italy.
This is a fortnightly column. The next edition will appear on May 27 .
From HT Brunch, May 13, 2018
Follow us on twitter.com/HTBrunch
Connect with us on facebook.com/hindustantimesbrunch
