Truffles, often referred to as the “ultimate mushroom,” are known for their earthy flavor and wallet-denting price (up to $4,000 per pound).
Organic truffle oil is a less expensive option, with different varieties available online and at well-stocked natural and organic food stores.
But read labels carefully. As Chef Daniel Patterson of San Francisco’s Coi Restaurant reports in the New York Times, some truffle oils lack even a hint of real truffle.
“Most commercial truffle oils are concocted by mixing olive oil with one or more compounds like 2,4-dithiapentane (the most prominent of the hundreds of aromatic molecules that make the flavor of white truffles so exciting) that have been created in a laboratory,” he writes.
The Food Network’s Pick
The Food Network purchases USDA Certified organic truffle oil from da Rosario, a New York City-based company that sells organic truffle products to the U.S. market.
Owned by Rosario Safina, author of Truffles: Ultimate Luxury, Everyday Pleasures, da Rosario sources truffles from a small plot on an organic farm in Italy’s Umbrian Valley. Products include USDA Certified 100% organic:
- Truffle-flavored olive oils (white and black truffle)
- Savory truffle seasonings (white and black truffle)
- Acacia honey with white truffles
- Truffle butters (white and black truffle)
“If the label says USDA 100% Certified Organic, you can bet there are real, organic truffle pieces inside,” Safina recently explained in The Daily Beast.
Chefs’ Recipes
Celebrity chefs regularly use real truffle butter and/or oil in their favorite recipes. Check out:
- Barefoot Contessa Ina Garten’s Roast Turkey with Truffle Butter
- Iron Chef Bobby Flay’s Parmesan-Crusted Portobello Mushrooms with White Truffle Oil
- Prolific restaurateur Emeril Lagasse’s rich Root Vegetable Soup with Truffle Oil
- Asian culinary superstar Ming Tsai’s Wild Mushroom and Pumpkin Risotto
Here in Los Angeles, hip restaurant La Cachette Bistro serves a Belgian Endives Salad with Organic California Walnuts, California Blue Cheese and Truffle Oil Dressing. Trendy Ketchup—known for its French fries tossed with Parmesan cheese and white truffle oil—has introduced a Summer Truffle Sausage Risotto.
For additional recipes, look no further than OrganicAuthority Publisher Laura Klein’s favorite truffle oil dishes.
Read More:Organic Truffle Oil: A Savory Splurge
