Have you had "truffle"?
About 5 years ago, a local grocery partner asked me if I could produce truffle honey for them.
Seemed like a good challenge, I thought. I got to work investigating the possibilities.
At the time, truffles were very popular in the culinary world.
Of course, it started in fine dining restaurants. And then as it became more popular, you'd see truffles all over the place. Truffle fries, truffle pasta, truffle dumplings, and so on...
The allure of truffles is naturally related to how expensive they are. The most expensive truffles are Italian white winter truffles. They are usually over $200 per ounce.
I understand why they are expensive. High quality truffles are difficult to cultivate and tricky to harvest.
It can take 7 years after "planting" for the truffles to emerge, if at all. They need lots of watering, a specific soil chemistry, and to be protected from wildlife.
Don't forget a well-trained dog or pig to sniff out the ripe ones when they are ready.
To cap it off, it turns out that fresh truffle loses most of its aroma and flavor within 3-5 days.
You can extend that a bit by freezing it, or preserving it in oil or butter, but most of the intense flavor is still lost right away.
So how is everyone getting truffle in their dishes?
It turns out the answer was: truffle oil. And when I looked, I found it everywhere.
In high-end specialty stores, and also in your supermarket aisle. By the ounce, and by the 5 gallon tub.
The problem, however, is that almost all truffle oil is not made with truffle.
Instead, it's made with a synthetic flavor compound called 2,4-Dithiapentane. It's called "truffle aroma" when you look at the ingredient list.
And it turns out, this flavor compound is pretty one-note, and lacks all the depth and intensity that a true truffle has.
I've had a few truffle fries in my life. I am sure I have never even come close to tasting real truffle.
Now, I don't have a problem with using flavorings in a recipe. The problem for me is when people consume something that they think is real, and pay a premium for it, but it turns out it isn't real at all.
And clearly, most artificial truffle oil sellers weren't trying too hard to be transparent about their product.
As for our truffle honey project, I had to pass on it. There was no way I could make real truffle honey that preserved all the flavor and aroma of the real truffle.
And I wasn't interested in making a product that looked like it was truffle but was actually an artificial flavor.
This raises an important question: What other "premium" foods aren't what they seem?
