SIMON'S FOOD SCHOOL:
Stuff You Didn't Know You Didn't Know About Food
If you are a regular watcher of TV culinary competitions, you will know that all of the judges have their own little quirks when it comes to deciding who made the best plate of food and who has to hit the high road. Scott Conant famously hates raw red onions in his salads, Michael Symon will point towards the exit door if the dish in front of him does not have enough salt or acid, and as for myself, if I ever get a whiff of curry powder as I descend the stairs on Cutthroat Kitchen, there is a very good chance the culprit will not make it to the next round.
There is one ingredient, however upon which every judge is of the same negative opinion, truffle oil. Its pungent whiff is so disliked by judges, that it might as well be stored with a plane ticket back to your hometown in the Food Network pantry. The much-voiced dislike of truffle oil often comes as a surprise to fans of the Food Network’s star chefs, particularly when they will often see the very same stars posting to their social media pages images of pasta or steaks covered in slices of this luxury ingredient. However, if pushed, they will soon explain that the difference between the genuine article of a truffle from France or Italy compared to what can be found in a bottle in your local gourmet store is a huge one. In fact, it would be fair to argue that the two things barely have any relationship to each other at all, except the use of the word “truffle”.
Genuine truffles are a rare and expensive gift from the culinary gods. Black truffles from the Perigord region of France, white truffles from the Alba region of Italy, and Summer truffles from countries such as Spain and Australia are seasonal, almost impossible to farm and must be harvested using well trained dogs and pigs by hunters who have spent years knowing what to look for, and who fervently protect their prime spots in forests from possible poachers. Consequently, they can cost hundreds, if not thousands of dollars apiece and should definitely be the star of the show when they are brought to the table. Which is why you will often see chefs using them over a fairly neutral dish such as scrambled eggs or pasta in a simple butter sauce when they really want to highlight them in season.
Unless you are using a genuine preserved truffle oil (one where a chef has used left over shavings of a truffle to infuse a good olive oil) the reality is that about 99% of truffle oils have never in their entire existence had any contact with the real thing. They are low quality, fake versions created to give people who may not be able to afford the high price of truffles a glimpse of what the real thing might be like. Most truffle oils are created by using a cheap and neutral base oil such as canola, and then lacing it with a compound called 2,4 Dithiapenthane, which replicates the aroma produced by natural truffles, but gives you none of the textures and tastes of eating one.
The end result is a product cheap enough that it can be poured over fries or pasta in an attempt to replicate eating a truffle. And, since they began to hit the market back in the 1980’s, truffle oils have become so successful that people now believe that they are getting a true experience when they are served. Unfortunately, they are not. Eating truffle oil in comparison to eating truffle is the same as wearing a fake Rolex bought in the market of a developing country or sitting in your driveway in a Rolls Royce made of cardboard. You may fool people for a while, but deep down you know it’s not real. It is a shame that genuine truffles may be out of the price range of many people. Indeed, I have to admit that they are not something to which I treat myself very often, because of the cost. However, this is true of all luxury items.
