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I was reading something last night about truffles.

 

Not the ones you get in a box of cheap chocolates, but truffles that cost 28000 UK pounds (an "Alba truffle" that was accidentally left to rot in Knightsbridge, or a 100 UK pounds "truffle pizza".

 

I've never tasted this. Anyone?

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We bought 300g of Western Australin truffles in August do make up some of the recipes in an issue of Australian Gourmet Traveller magazine. $2500/kg, flown in fresh from WA to order. Had some friends over for dinner (3 courses all featuring truffles), and enough left over to add to an omelette for breakfast.

They do have a very earthy flavour, the so-called "Umami" taste characteristics. They tend to enhance to flavours already in food, and their own flavour is hard to compare with anything else. They don't taste like other mushrooms. They go well with chicken, fish or egg dishes, but avoid adding them to heavily flavoured meats and sauces, as the truffle flavours will be masked, and you'll have wasted a lot of money.

If you want to go cheaper, you can get preserved or powdered truffles at specialty delicatessens.

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so was it worth the $750? (i'm a foodie and am genuinely interested to know - while i can't imagine paying that much, I'm not taking the piss)

 

alain fabregues has recently started growing them in WA. he's a highly aclaimed french chef and reckons he can start producing truffles to rival those from europe.

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apparently not Sunrise. I heard a story recently about someone in America who was very successfully producing them in quite large volumes, and he had the traditional Trufflists all in a fit because he was gonna start to bring down the exhorbitant prices they have enjoyed for so long.

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Yes, worth it for a one-off experience, but I don't think we will make a habit of it... I've never tried the genuine Perigord variety, so I can't relly compare the ones we ate to those. Hopefully Bushpig is right, and soon we will be able to enjoy them more often, at more realistic prices.

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I think the price for wild truffles is a lot diff. as is the taste. Wild truffles are usualy found with a special boar that smells them out, I think!! Also the truffle tree can only produce truffles for about ten of its years i think and takes a while to be mature enough to produce them.

 

I have had them a few times in Europe, it was a custom to have them when we visited a friends place in Alba, Italy (they have a annual truffle hunt here!And are the white truffles not the black ones of Germany). Fresh they have a really really strong smell. I have had truffle pate, and an amazing sirloin with blue cheese and truffles. Taste was awsome!

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