May 18, 2007

Well, you know my Mac and Cheese with truffles? (Rigatoni stuffed with mascarpone, St. Andres, Fontal, Parmesan, cognac cream sauce etc.?) Those are real truffles. Winter in the winter and summer in the summer. All from France. Could I make it with truffle oil? Yes. Would you like it? Probably. Would it be as good as real truffles? I think not.

You may not know this but truffle oil is fake. I’ve known this for years and have used it. You may have had truffle oil on a breakfast egg dish at the inn but we always tell you it’s truffle oil. It’s rare but I do like white truffle oil on my fried eggs. Oh, and those eggs with the black truffle flavor? Those were done naturally. When I buy fresh truffles, I always put them in with the eggs to give the eggs that great black truffle flavor.

Here’s an article on this subject. It’s hard to believe that many chefs don’t know that it’s fake, as the article points out, and it’s still amazes me that chefs would combine real truffles and the oil. Ouch.

Next year when my theme is molecular gastronomy, will I be using truffle oil? Hmm. That’s a great question. It’s just one more chemical after all. Let me say, probably not. Ingredients are still just that. If I do, however, I’ll tell you.