Buying Truffles
Dec. 28th, 2002 02:41 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
jim_pBuying truffles. I'm not talking the chocolate kind, I'm talking the micological kind... the kind that they're always hauling out on "Iron Chef" when they don't know what else to do. The kind that are absolutely hideously expensive. The kind that lend a sublime note to any dishes they are delicately shaved over...
After watching enough Iron Chef, I wanted to procure such high-end ingredients myself. The trouble is, hideously expensive ingredients such as truffles and foie gras are not likely to be found on supermarket shelves. You have to Know Where To Find Them.
Two years ago, while chatting on IRC I asked my friend![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
browngirl where one might possibly find truffles in the Boston area. She shot back "Try Savenor's". I slapped my forehead... of COURSE! Savenor's is the specialty grocer that's famed for having hard-to-find ingredients. Julia Child herself used to shop there in her younger years.
So I make my way to culinary Valhalla and enter. It's surprisingly small inside, but its size belies the treasures that lay within. After failing to see any truffles around, I inquire of one of the produce clerks.
Well! It turns out that buying truffles is a bit like buying high-grade diamonds. Upon discreet inquiry the clerk proceeds to the back of the shop and emerges with a selection for the customer's perusal. I was shown several varieties; Black Perigord ($800/pound), white Italian ($1600/pound) and the new domestically-grown Oregon white (a steal at only $200/pound). The truffles are kept in little closed plastic tubs in a bed of rice. The clerk cracks open each tub and you get a whoosh of the concentrated truffle aroma. Some have described the aroma as akin to old socks, but it's more refined than that... a combination of musty and pungent. And powerful when first unleashed in this manner.
Oh, and the rice? It's there for two reasons -- first, to absorb moisture and keep the truffle from getting moldy in storyage, and second when you're done with the truffles the rice makes one kick-ass risotto!
Two years ago I was not terribly flush, so I left with a small portion of a black truffle that rang up at $35, and a few marble-sized Oregon Whites at $10.
This year, I was in much better financial shape, and I had planned to give a portion of my truffle-haul to a friend as a Christmas gift. So I repeated the process. As it just happened, they received a shipment the previous day and had many to choose from. I settled on two Italian black truffles.... at $100 and $125 each. Gulp.
I gave half of one truffle to my friend, used part of one in a stuffed pork roast for the office holiday potluck (it seemed to go over well!) and another quarter-truffle in the rice dish for Christmas dinner. I still have to figure out what to do with the rest, but I'm sure I'll think of something. If nothing else, Iron Chef will give me ideas :)
After watching enough Iron Chef, I wanted to procure such high-end ingredients myself. The trouble is, hideously expensive ingredients such as truffles and foie gras are not likely to be found on supermarket shelves. You have to Know Where To Find Them.
Two years ago, while chatting on IRC I asked my friend
browngirl where one might possibly find truffles in the Boston area. She shot back "Try Savenor's". I slapped my forehead... of COURSE! Savenor's is the specialty grocer that's famed for having hard-to-find ingredients. Julia Child herself used to shop there in her younger years.So I make my way to culinary Valhalla and enter. It's surprisingly small inside, but its size belies the treasures that lay within. After failing to see any truffles around, I inquire of one of the produce clerks.
Well! It turns out that buying truffles is a bit like buying high-grade diamonds. Upon discreet inquiry the clerk proceeds to the back of the shop and emerges with a selection for the customer's perusal. I was shown several varieties; Black Perigord ($800/pound), white Italian ($1600/pound) and the new domestically-grown Oregon white (a steal at only $200/pound). The truffles are kept in little closed plastic tubs in a bed of rice. The clerk cracks open each tub and you get a whoosh of the concentrated truffle aroma. Some have described the aroma as akin to old socks, but it's more refined than that... a combination of musty and pungent. And powerful when first unleashed in this manner.
Oh, and the rice? It's there for two reasons -- first, to absorb moisture and keep the truffle from getting moldy in storyage, and second when you're done with the truffles the rice makes one kick-ass risotto!
Two years ago I was not terribly flush, so I left with a small portion of a black truffle that rang up at $35, and a few marble-sized Oregon Whites at $10.
This year, I was in much better financial shape, and I had planned to give a portion of my truffle-haul to a friend as a Christmas gift. So I repeated the process. As it just happened, they received a shipment the previous day and had many to choose from. I settled on two Italian black truffles.... at $100 and $125 each. Gulp.
I gave half of one truffle to my friend, used part of one in a stuffed pork roast for the office holiday potluck (it seemed to go over well!) and another quarter-truffle in the rice dish for Christmas dinner. I still have to figure out what to do with the rest, but I'm sure I'll think of something. If nothing else, Iron Chef will give me ideas :)
