What are truffles? How can I eat?

truffle

Natural truffle

Truffle is an annual natural fungal plant, which mainly grows under the soil near the roots of oak whiskers. There are about 30 kinds, of which white truffles and black truffles are the most delicious. Usually, truffles are irregular spherical in appearance, some are as small as beans and some are as big as Fuji apples. After cutting, it looks like a maze of marble lines.

Because truffles are very picky about the growing environment, they can't grow as long as the pH value of sunlight, water or soil changes slightly, which is why truffles are so rare. How expensive are truffles? Moso Henry, who has been planting truffles for decades, said that the best truffles in the world are white truffles from Alba, Italy, which cost $35,000 per kilogram, and black truffles from Perigord, France, which cost at least $500 per kilogram.

"Edible white diamond ..." "Tastes like earth and garlic, smells like natural gas, some like cheese, some like onions, but unlike it, it tastes like cabbage ..." "Taste of heaven ..." These are all words used to describe the smell and taste of white truffles. Yes, the scientific name of white truffle is Tuber magnatum, which is one of the most expensive foods in the world. If the price of black truffles is similar to that of gold with the same weight, then only diamonds can compete with the price of white truffles.

White truffles are rarer and more expensive than French black winter truffles and Perigord truffles, and only grow in northern Italy and Croatia. This kind of white truffle is called Duke Truffle. The best white truffles can only be found in Piedmont, especially near the town of Elma. White truffles only grow from mid-June to the end of February. It is difficult to find them because they grow in the soil near the roots of trees. Truffle hunters usually use trained hounds to sniff them out. Truffles cannot be farmed artificially, which is one of the reasons why they are so expensive. The price of white truffles fluctuates every year, but it usually ranges from 800 to 1500 USD per pound (453g).

Truffles and caviar, champagne, oysters and foie gras all mark the most expensive luxuries in food. Their price and taste are the same, which is one of the reasons that attract many diners. For truffles, their legendary aphrodisiac effect also adds magical color to white truffles.

White truffles are usually called white diamonds. One of the reasons is that, like diamonds, they look ordinary or even ugly before carving. When the white truffle was first dug out, it looked like a clumsy, dusty potato. But once cut, it will reveal marble-like lines, ivory-like patterns and intoxicating fragrance. The heavenly taste of white truffles mainly comes from its aroma, so it is generally not heated. The most common way to eat it is to cut it into very thin slices, with fresh egg noodles and then with Italian juice. Such delicious food is imaginable.

exorbitant price

Truffles are called "diamonds" by the French, and their value is juxtaposed with high-quality foods such as caviar and foie gras, and they are known as the "three kings" in food. The unique smell of truffles makes it an extremely precious seasoning sacred product in French cuisine and Italian cuisine. I believe many people have heard the name truffle, but what exactly is truffle? In fact, truffle is a fungus, an underground ascomycete, which forms an absolute symbiotic form with the roots of oak, Cyclobalanopsis and pine. Therefore, it is called ectomycorrhiza.

The largest white truffle in history was found in 195 1, weighing about 4 pounds, and then sold for about $5,000. In the years immediately after the end of World War II, the preciousness of $5,000 can be imagined.

In 2004, the United States held a truffle competition with truffles as the ultimate food. Organizers use online video to establish contact with big restaurants in new york and Los Angeles, so that gourmets from two big cities can bid. In this auction, three precious Oba truffles participated in the auction. The most striking thing is a piece of white truffle produced in Alba, northern Italy, which weighs one kilogram, while the usual truffle is only one tenth of its weight, so it is extremely precious. With the help of the host of the popular American TV program "Life with Wealth", the original price of this white truffle was 8,000 US dollars, and it was immediately increased to 30,000 US dollars by chefs on both sides of the strait. In the end, Pitka, the owner of La Bastille restaurant and a famous film and television director, beat his opponent with a sky-high price of $35,000. Porto, the head of the restaurant, told the reporter of European Daily: "It weighs one kilogram of white truffles, and the price of 35,000 dollars is worth buying." Interestingly, Genshe IV, a 9-year-old hunting dog who found this big truffle, also participated in the auction on behalf of the owner.

Legend of truffles

The ancients thought truffles were the daughters of lightning. The ancient Greeks and Romans were fascinated by truffles, which they thought had an aphrodisiac effect. Rossini, a famous composer and gourmet, praised truffles as Mozart in mushrooms. Truffles used to grow in woodlands in Italy, and the best truffles were produced in Roero and the edge of Lange Mountain in Piedmont, Italy. At the same time, it is also the best wine producing area in Italy.

Truffles, especially Perigord truffles, can only be smelled by strictly trained sows and bitches. Since ancient times, French chefs have used wild boar to find truffles to meet the needs of nobles. Today, truffle hunters in Italy and France still use trained pigs and hounds to find truffles. The secret is that truffles contain alpha male hormones, which are similar to male steroid hormones. Some people think that it is this smell that induces female animals to search and make them mistakenly think that they are tracking the opposite sex partner. Whether this statement is reasonable remains to be studied.

Bertorino, a truffle hunter who has lived in Elma for generations, thinks that only female hounds are the best hunters to find truffles. Because pigs especially like truffles. Hunters have to work hard to pull pigs back, otherwise they will eat truffles. The hound's strong vigilance will make it notify its owner as soon as it finds truffles.

In Italy, training truffle hounds requires a complicated process. First, train the dog to pick up the thrown ball, then change the ball into cheese, and then hide the cheese for the dog to find. Finally, use a small piece of truffle instead of cheese for the dog to find and dig out. The night before looking for truffles, hunters usually don't give hunting dogs food, so hunting dogs will work harder to find truffles in exchange for rewards, such as bread and cheese, which are hunting dogs' favorite foods.

Taste truffles

A good truffle should be very solid and compact, with a heavy feel, not as soft as a mushroom. Experts will carefully identify the smell of truffles before buying. This unique and indescribable taste is the primary criterion for identifying the quality of truffles. Fortunately, precious truffles can be preserved for a long time as long as they are with their own soil, and only these soils can maintain their charming fragrance. When storing truffles, they should be wrapped in paper towels, then wrapped in tin foil, and then stored in the refrigerator at low temperature. But be careful not to store it for too long, otherwise the taste will disappear completely. As many recipes say, don't store truffles in rice. Rice will suck away the unique taste of truffles, leaving only an expensive potato for you.

The traditional way to eat truffles is to cut truffles into extremely thin slices with a special slicer, and then eat them raw, or sprinkle them on lasagna, scrambled eggs or pasta coated with butter and cheese. Fontuta is a classic white truffle dish, made of Fantine cheese, eggs, milk and white truffles. It is delicious to eat with bread.

Of course, white truffles can also be eaten after heating, if you have confidence in your cooking. Here is a recommendation for you: slice and cook potatoes, slice white truffles and bake them with butter and mozzarella cheese, then add potatoes. The cost of this dish is about 200 dollars.

Just like wine, white truffles are divided into different types according to their roots, such as willow, oak, poplar, bodhi and grape. The color of white truffles also ranges from white to pink and brownish gray. Unlike black truffles, white truffles lose their unique flavor after heating. The best way to eat them is to clean the slices at the last minute. When eating black truffles, it is best to have a bottle of Pommalo red wine, while white truffles need a bottle of aged raistlin as a foil.

Common name: Italian white truffle or Alba truffle.

Scientific name: truffle

Origin: Italy, Croatia

Growing season: from 10 to 12 every year.

Taste: different. Slightly garlic, some similar to cheese, with some pungent taste.

How to eat: usually eaten raw, sliced and eaten with eggs, spaghetti, lasagna or salad.

Price (per pound): 0-500

Common names: black winter truffle or Perigord truffle.

Scientific name: tubemelanosporum

Origin: mainly France, but also Spain and Italy.

Growing season: from 65438+February to the following March.

Taste: It contains the fragrance of earth and has a strong taste.