Easy Gingerbread Truffles Recipe (2024)

FAQs

How do you cook truffles? ›

Avoid a lot of heat: Don't cook them too much or you will drive off much of the flavour and aroma. If using in a hot dish, such as a soup or sauce, slice or grate the truffle in just before serving or warm briefly in a little oil. Use quickly: The strength of the truffle flavour will naturally decrease over time.

We recommend grating it or slicing it on top of those dishes where we want to enhance the aroma and flavour, and give a much more special final touch. The whole preserved black truffle combines very well in both hot and cold dishes, and can even be used in many sweet dishes.

Grate truffles into wine or cream-based sauces, or shave them onto cooked pasta, scrambled eggs, or potato dishes. Or try our Black Truffle Ice Cream recipe, which is excellent for using black winter truffles in the summer, and makes an elegant finish to a special dinner.

Shave fresh black truffle slices directly over dishes.

If you are lucky enough to have gotten your hands on some fresh black truffle, we highly recommend shaving them directly over dishes such as risotto, mashed potatoes, or pasta to experience the earthy potency of these underground fungi.

Black truffles are typically used in cooking more than white truffles. White truffles are best reserved for shaving over a finished dish.

It's all about the smell, according to Rocco Tripodi of Queen's Harvest. “It's part of the whole thing. It's about the smell as much as the taste,” he says. So, keep a nose out for the rich, strong scent when looking for fresh truffles.

Not only can they be used on pastas and eggs or in oils and butters, but you can use fresh shaved truffles on any meats, salads, soups, sauces, pizzas, fries, baked or mashed potatoes, tacos, sushi, burgers, ceviche, and so much more!

Thinly slice the truffle with a truffle slicer. Then lightly sautee the truffle slivers on either side preferably in a truffle oil or a truffle butter. Then add to a dish at the end of the dishes cooking process.

Truffles are commonly used in pasta dishes, risotto, sauces, or grated over seafood or meat. Black truffles go well with juicy steaks such as our Dry-Aged Rib Eyes with Burgundy-Truffle Sauce.

Whereas the aroma of fresh truffles is more powerful but also very volatile, the aroma of preserved truffles is more complex but also more stable, as they have undergone a first cooking. When properly cooked, canned truffles give just as good results as fresh truffles with the right techniques and recipes .

Why is black truffle so expensive? ›

Pound for pound, truffle is one of the most expensive foods you can buy. The reason behind such high costs is the scarcity of the produce, truffles are seasonal, extremely difficult to grow, and take many years to cultivate. They also have a short shelf life.

They pair well with pasta, soups, potatoes, and dishes like risotto. It is typically recommended to avoid using white truffle oil on a heavier dish as the flavors may not pair well, but do not be afraid to experiment.

Black Truffles are commonly used sliced thinly or grating them and mixing them into food. Aside from this use, there are a few other ways to include the taste of truffles in cooking, for example: Truffle oil, Truffle butter and Truffle cheese.

For this reason, it's rare to actually cook truffles. Instead, it's typical to shave them thinly over the top of hot, cooked food before serving, letting the warmth of the food activate the flavors and aromas. This is especially true of white truffles.

Truffles should be eaten at the peak of ripeness (unripe truffles are not so flavourful). Black truffles are peeled and can be used raw or lightly cooked, while white truffles are just carefully wiped and cleaned and should never be cooked.

Truffles are known for their earthy, umami-rich flavor and heady, musky aroma. Their flavor is sometimes compared to mushrooms, although truffles are more intense and complex in taste and far more fragrant. The exact profile varies by variety, season and quality, incorporating nutty, garlicky or floral notes.