There is nothing intrinsically wrong with Chinese truffles. Consumers simply need to be aware that Chinese black truffles (Tuber sinensis, Tuber indicum and Tuber himalayensis) are a different variety of black truffles than the prized Perigord black truffle (Tuber melanosporum).
Chinese truffles are winter black truffles, which are abundantly available in China, and wholesale for as little as $20 to $30 per pound. In contrast, Perigord truffles, mostly harvested in France, start at $800 per pound wholesale.
Chinese truffles are often used in pate or economical truffle products. There is demand for lower priced products containing truffles, and the Chinese truffle provides a solution for this market. Consumers who are concerned about the type of truffles used in these products should read the packaging carefully or inquire with the manufacturer to determine the truffle variety used in the product. The fact that the product is manufactured in France or Italy does not mean that the truffles are Perigord black truffles.
The only similarity between fresh Chinese truffles and Perigord black truffles is the appearance. Some varieties of Chinese black truffles (specifically Tuber himalayensis) look almost identical to Perigord black truffles, and would require a microscope to differentiate between the two truffle varieties. The similarities between the two types of winter truffles stop with their appearance. In fact, there are numerous differences between Chinese truffles and Perigord black truffles including the fragrance, taste, texture, shape and the amount of veins.
Perigord Black Truffle
Fragrance: First, and most notably, the fragrance of the two truffle varieties is strikingly different. Chinese black truffles do not have a strong aroma. In contrast, the slightly musky and slightly sweet aroma of Perigord black truffles is so pungent and unique, the earthy fragrance cannot be mistaken.
Taste: The taste of the two truffle varieties is also a dead giveaway. When Perigord black truffles are fully mature and cooked (the heating process releases the truffle flavor), they have a distinct flavor, which is undeniably superior to the mild flavor of Chinese truffles.
Texture: Chinese truffles tend to be more elastic than Perigord Black truffles. Sliced Chinese truffles generally won’t break because of the difference in elasticity; they are more likely to bend than break.
Shape: Perigord black truffles are frequently bulbous and irregular in shape, where Chinese truffles tend to be more on the round side.
Veins: When ripe, black truffles should be black inside with white veins. Perigord black truffles are characterized by having many veins, where Chinese truffles may appear darker because they might have less veins and the veins are frequently smaller than those of the Perigord black truffle.
China is known for producing cheap “knock offs” of the real thing, and the Chinese truffle seems to follow this trend. Though the Chinese truffles appear to be very similar to the world famous Perigord black truffle, the differences in taste, texture and aroma are profound. There is no substitute for the divine fragrance and rich earthy flavor of Perigord black truffles.
This recipe is ideal for either summer black truffles or Burgundy truffles. In this preparation, the truffles soak up the juice from the steak and become warm and softened. Since summer truffles are only a fraction of the cost of winter truffles, you can be generous with the quantity of truffles used. We used French summer truffles for this recipe because French summer truffles tend to have a more robust flavor than Italian summer truffles.
Serves 6 – 8
Ingredients:
Two 1.5-pound aged prime porterhouse steaks
coarse sea salt and freshly ground pepper
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/4 cup minced shallots
1 cup beef stock
1/2 cup Cognac or other brandy
4 – 8 ounces French summer black truffle (or Burgundy truffles)
Instructions:
Remove the steak from the refrigerator at least 30 minutes before cooking. Season both sides of the steaks with sea salt and freshly ground pepper. The steaks can be grilled, broiled, or cooked in a skillet. (If the steaks are cooked in a skillet, reserve the juices for the sauce). For rare or medium rare steaks, the cooking time should be approximately 10 – 15 minutes, depending on the thickness of the steaks and the temperature of the grill, stove, or broiler. If using a meat thermometer, 120 degrees indicates rare, and 125 degrees for medium rare.
Meanwhile, thinly slice the summer truffles using a sharp knife, mandoline, or truffle slicer.
Saute the shallots in a skillet over medium high heat in 2 tablespoons of the butter and the olive oil until soft and slightly golden brown. Add the beef stock and cook until reduced almost to a glaze. Add the Cognac and immediately set fire to the sauce. Cook for 1 – 2 minutes over medium heat, then gradually add the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter, 1/2 a tablespoon at a time, stirring after each addition until the butter is just incorporated and the sauce is slightly thickened.
Line a pan with the sliced truffles and set aside until the steaks have finished cooking. When the steaks are rare or medium rare, remove them from the heat source, and place them on top of the layer of truffles. Cover the pan with foil, and let the steak rest for 10 minutes, turning once after the first 5 minutes.
Transfer the steak to a cutting board and slice the meat. Arrange the steak slices on each plate, being sure to serve some of the filet portion of the steak to each guest. Top the steak with a spoonful of the Cognac shallot reduction, and a generous serving of the juice soaked, warm truffles. Serve with mashed potatoes (enhanced with white or black truffle oil or truffle butter if you desire), and a green vegetable such as asparagus, sugar snap peas, or green beans.
My favorite way to cook is to find a recipe I like, substitute about 75% of the ingredients, and create a totally new recipe. Last night’s experimentation was a big success! This absolutely delicious duck breast and foie gras recipe doesn’t take long to prepare, but does require some coordination on the timing.
Any raw foie gras may be used for this recipe, but the most suitable product is “foie gras cubes”. The foie gras comes in a one-pound shrink wrapped package (retails for only $45). Use the smaller pieces for the sauce, since they will be emulsified in the blender. Reserve the larger cubes to sauté.
If black truffles are in season, you could certainly add thin slices of fresh black truffles to the mashed potatoes.
Ingredients:
2 large duck breasts, skin scored with a diamond pattern (score in both directions) and seasoned with salt and pepper
4 shallots, sliced thin
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon sugar
1/3 cup cognac or brandy
2 cups rich chicken or duck stock
1 pound foie gras cubes, separate the larger pieces from the smaller scraps
Instructions: Place the potatoes in a pot of cold salted water. Bring to a boil and cook about 15 minutes or until tender. Smash the potatoes and add about 4 oz of black truffle butter. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Set aside to keep warm.
While potatoes are cooking, saute the shallots in olive oil with the sugar until caramelized. Deglaze the pan with brandy or cognac and reduce the liquid to 1/4, about 2 tablespoons. Add the chicken stock and continue cooking until the liquid is reduced to about one cup. Pour the hot sauce into a blender and immediately add about 4 – 6 oz of the smaller pieces of raw foie gras while the blender is still running. Leave the foie gras sauce in the blender to keep it warm.
While the potatoes are cooking and the shallots are caramelizing, put the duck breasts skin side down in a medium hot frying pan. Cook for about 12 – 15 letting the fat render away, and allowing the skin to get crispy. During the last minute or so, turn the breast over with meat side down. Set the breasts aside and cover with foil.
Next, heat about one tablespoon olive oil and add the onion and jalapeno and cook until the onion is golden brown. Add the cabbage and cook for about 10 minutes or until until cooked to your preference. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
When everything is ready, heat the pan with the rendered duck fat to medium high and sear the duck breasts for a minute or two. Slice the duck breasts.
While the duck breasts are reheating, heat another frying pan to medium high. Put the reserved larger pieces of foie gras in the hot pan. Turn the foie gras over as each side gets golden brown. Remove the foie gras from the pan and cover with foil.
To plate, place a scoop of black truffle butter mashed potatoes on the plate. Put a serving of cabbage next to the potato. Fan the duck slices slightly overlapping the potato. Pour the foie gras sauce around the edges (the empty parts of the plate), leaving a pool of foie gras sauce in each plate. Place the seared foie gras on the outside edge of the plate near the potato.
I was wondering what to do with my beautiful sage green princess pumpkin after both Halloween and Thanksgiving had passed, when I remembered a recipe I saw for Pumpkin Bisque with Foie Gras and White Truffle Oil. Though I modified the recipe here and there, I was thrilled with the result. Since I generally do not measure seasoning, and the measurements listed are a guess of what I actually used, you’ll need to adjust to your own taste.
The recipe was quick and easy to prepare, once the pumpkin was peeled and diced (that was the most time consuming part). The seared foie gras and truffle oil add a layer of complexity to the soup, though it could be enjoyed without the foie gras or truffle oil.
Here are the basic ingredients:
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 leeks, sliced
3 cloves garlic, smashed
8 cups diced peeled pumpkin (or use another winter squash)
Melt the butter in a medium soup pot. Add leeks and garlic and cook over medium heat until soft, about 10 minutes. Add the diced pumpkin, herbs and spices, salt, pepper and chicken stock. Bring to a boil, then cover pot and reduce heat to low. Simmer for about 20 minutes or until the pumpkin is tender.
Remove the bay leaf. Add the coconut milk to the soup and puree in a blender. Return the pureed soup to the pot and add the brandy. Adjust the seasoning the taste. Keep warm on stove.
Heat a heavy saute pan on medium high heat. Season the foie gras with salt and fresh ground pepper. Sear the foie gras cubes, or foie gras medallions on all sides until brown outside, but just cooked inside (still pink, but not raw).
To serve, pour the soup into warmed soup bowls, top with a drizzle of truffle oil, then place the foie gras cubes or medallion on the top of the soup.
Easy recipe for black truffle mushrooms/black winter truffles. Duck breast salad with black truffles, currants, walnuts, Pont l’Eveque, and port reduction. This is a cooking demonstration video highlighting fresh black truffle mushrooms from the Perigord in France. The recipe is Muscovy Duck Salad with Black Truffle, Pont lEveque, Currants, and Port Reduction, from the cookbook Charlie Trotters Meat and Game. The preparation is not difficult, particularly if you have a wine or port reduction already made. The duck breast used in the video is a moulard duck breast, magret de canard, which is scored on the fat side before searing. The salad consists of sliced duck breast (cooked rare), baby greens such as mache dressed with walnut oil and sherry vinegar, toasted walnuts, currants, toasted nut bread with a slice of Pont l-Eveque cheese, a drizzle of port reduction, and fresh black truffle slices, which are heated in olive oil over low heat prior to serving. The combination of ingredients in this delightful salad are perfect with the fresh black truffles. (more…)
This is a cooking demonstration video highlighting fresh black truffle mushrooms from the Perigord in France. This recipe for scallop truffle Napoleon with creamed leeks is from the cookbook Truffles, Ultimate Luxury, Everyday Pleasure by Rosariio Safina and Judith Sutton.
This recipe is easy to make and really showcases the wonderful black truffle flavor. A slice of truffle is inserted into the cut center of each scallop and refrigerated for one or two hours, which allows the truffle flavor to permeate the scallop.
Once seared, the scallops are placed on a bed of braised or creamed leeks, and finished with a generous amount of minced black truffles.
Quick overview on black truffle mushrooms/black winter truffles from Perigord, France cost and size. 1 oz black truffle, 2 oz black truffle shown.
This video shows two ripe fresh black truffles from the Perigord in France; one truffle is one ounce and the other is two ounces. If you wanted to buy truffles online, a one-ounce black truffle would sell for between $90 – $150 and the two-ounce black truffle would sell for between $160 – $300. Truffle prices vary by the week, based on supply and demand.
Recipe ideas for black truffle mushrooms/black winter truffles. Several cookbooks are shown with best truffle recipes for Perigord black truffles.
Perigord black truffles from France are in season late November through mid March, and usually reach their peak of maturity in January and February. Look for black truffle mushrooms that are black inside, with white veins, firm to touch; never spongy.
Black winter truffles are the only truffles that are best enjoyed heated or cooked. The heating process intensifies the wonderful truffle flavor and aroma that is unique to black winter truffles. All other popular truffle varieties such as Alba white truffles, burgundy truffles, and summer truffles are best served raw.
Black truffles last longer than white truffles, stored properly, fresh black truffles will last for a week to ten days. The black truffles should be wrapped in a paper towel and kept in an airtight container in the refrigerator. The towel should be changed daily or as need to keep the truffles dry.
This video shows recipe ideas and cooking tips for black truffle mushrooms. Highlighted recipes are truffle omelet, chicken in half mourning (truffled chicken), scallop truffle Napoleon with creamed leeks, potato and truffle torte with veal stock reduction, braised sweetbreads wrapped in black truffles and monkfish wrapped in black truffles and pancetta and truffle sauce.
Fresh black truffle mushrooms from Perigord, France are the best truffles, black interior indicates maturity and peak truffle flavor and aroma.
Perigord black truffles from France are in season late November through mid March, and usually reach their peak of maturity in January and February. Look for black truffle mushrooms that are black inside, with white veins, firm to touch; never spongy.
Black winter truffles are the only truffles that are best enjoyed heated or cooked. The heating process intensifies the wonderful truffle flavor and aroma that is unique to black winter truffles. All other popular truffle varieties such as Alba white truffles, burgundy truffles, and summer truffles are best served raw.
Black truffles last longer than white truffles, stored properly, fresh black truffles will last for a week to ten days. The black truffles should be wrapped in a paper towel and kept in an airtight container in the refrigerator. The towel should be changed daily or as need to keep the truffles dry.
http://www.enjoyfoiegras.com/products/truffles.html Preserved black truffle mushrooms from Perigord are a good alternative when winter truffles are not in season.
Preserved truffles do not have the intense flavor and aroma of fresh black truffles, but they can be substituted in some recipes off-season. To add to the flavor of the preserved black truffles, you may add truffle oil, truffle salt, or truffle juice.
Recent Comments