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Truffle Oil


clayrae

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To each his own, but after buying a bottle of Trader Joe's truffle oil, we went back to the far more expensive yet immesurably better product available at either Whole Foods or Dean & DeLuca. Well worth the extra money.

How much extra money are we talking about?

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How much extra money are we talking about?
Lots.

If I recall, the Trader Joe's version was the larger black bottle on the back left here, at about $8.99. The brand carried by D&D is pictured in the foreground, and costs about $15. Whole Foods carries a bottle similar to the D&D version, for a similar price.

Again, YMMV, but I found the Trader Joe's version most unfortunate.

Whichever you get, a great thing to do with it (and answer to the question "what do I serve my vegetarian friends?") is to make a risotto with mushroom stock and mushrooms, stir in some whipped (not with sugar or vanilla) cream and then drizzle with truffle oil. My wife also likes it on pizza.

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Whichever you get, a great thing to do with it (and answer to the question "what do I serve my vegetarian friends?") is to make a risotto with mushroom stock and mushrooms, stir in some whipped (not with sugar or vanilla) cream and then drizzle with truffle oil. My wife also likes it on pizza.
That's what I'm making tonight.......risotto with lobster mushrooms topped with a drizzle of truffle oil.

And I'll second the pizza. Rip off a piece of crust and dunk that bad boy into some truffle oil. It's better than sex. :)

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In not sure of the shelf life of truffle oil. I would hazard a guess that if it does not taste rancid, that it is probably still safe to eat. (Whether or not it still tastes like truffles is another matter.)

I keep all of my oils, except the extra virgin I use daily, in the fridge. This keeps the nut and sesame oils from going rancid, and extends the life and flavor of the truffle oil. The oils will solidify in the fridge, just let them stand at room temperature for a few minutes before you use them.

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My wonderful husband gave me two bottles of truffle oil, one white, one black, (S. Anatolia de Marco) for Christmas. Unfortunately, the black truffle oil cap isn't threaded properly and won't open. I'm going to call the company that sold it and return it, rather than risk trying to force it open.

Meanwhile, I had my first scrambled eggs with white truffle oil this morning, and I'm in heaven! :P

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My wonderful husband gave me two bottles of truffle oil, one white, one black, (S. Anatolia de Marco) for Christmas. Unfortunately, the black truffle oil cap isn't threaded properly and won't open. I'm going to call the company that sold it and return it, rather than risk trying to force it open.

Meanwhile, I had my first scrambled eggs with white truffle oil this morning, and I'm in heaven! :P

genius. :D

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Unlike some foodstuff, with truffle oil, you get what you pay for. Watch out for brands that use synthetic flavors instead of infusing the oil with real truffles. This is is more common with white truffle oil than with black truffle oil. With the black truffle oil, some companies cheat by using cheap truffles from countries other than France. I've heard from alot of chefs that they dislike using bottled truffle oil for this reason.

This is not to discourage the home cook for doing whatever their heart desires or whatever makes their eggs heavenly; hell if it was $20 for truffle oil or pumping gas in my car, well...

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I bought a bottle of the Black Truffle Oil from Trader Joe's yesterday. They take great pains to spell out that this is olive oil infused with black winter truffles from Italy!

I am please with this stuff and will go back a bottle of the White. It was nice drizzled over the garlic mashed potatoes and the steak with mushroom sauce I made for dinner last night. At $8.99 for 250 ml, I consider this a steal.

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You may want to re-think after reading this...

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/16/dining/16truf.html

Very interesting!

I enjoyed this quote...

And Americans, as many were quick to note, like big flavors. “People expect the slap in the face of truffle oil,” said Jonathan Gold, the restaurant critic for LA Weekly. “They have lost their taste for subtlety; they want bigger than life flavors that are amped up with aromatics. That’s American cooking at the moment.”
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I bought a bottle of the Black Truffle Oil from Trader Joe's yesterday. They take great pains to spell out that this is olive oil infused with black winter truffles from Italy!

I am please with this stuff and will go back a bottle of the White. It was nice drizzled over the garlic mashed potatoes and the steak with mushroom sauce I made for dinner last night. At $8.99 for 250 ml, I consider this a steal.

It served me well for the last couple of years. I went back to Trader Joe's on Saturday and unfortunately they don't sell the product anymore.

One of the clerks/managers said that it was a seasonal item. Not sure what that meant exactly, but hopefully it will be back at some point.

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One of the clerks/managers said that it was a seasonal item. Not sure what that meant exactly, but hopefully it will be back at some point.
This implies that TJ is claiming it sells the real deal made from black truffles that have short growing seasons, the best in late fall, contradicting accusations that truffle oil is usually a manufactured chemically thing. It was a dreadful year for truffles. Dry.
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Trader Joe's ... One of the clerks/managers said that it was a seasonal item. Not sure what that meant exactly, but hopefully it will be back at some point.

I was told the same thing, but TJ's truffle oil has never returned. Guess the cost of fake truffle flavor went up too much (I still liked it though I must admit).

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