Cooking with Truffles: Tips for Enhancing the Flavor of Your Truffle Recipes

What better way to add an exquisitely earthy flavor and strong aroma to your dishes than adding some truffles? Truffles are a special kind of mushroom with wrinkled and irregular shapes. The difficulty of finding them and their scarcity make them all the more valuable and of course, expensive. For culinary purposes, truffles can be so versatile because they can be added to almost every delicacy. If you want to try them, the following are several tips on cooking with truffles.

* Know the difference between truffle varieties. Even if they’re known for their strong flavor and aroma, truffles still vary in those departments depending on the fungal species. For example, a Chinese truffle is different from Italian truffle, even though they are both black. The Chinese variety has weaker flavor, while the Italian variety has more culinary significance. Keep that in mind when you shop for truffles. To know the difference, smell them. The Italian truffle has a stronger odor.

• Clean the truffles first before eating them. Wash them with water and brush them softly to remove soil that’s stuck in them. 

• Don’t store the truffles for too long, lest they’ll lose their flavor. Truffles easily diminish the strength of their flavor, so consume them soon after you purchased them.

• Use truffles sparingly. They’re not like garlic or bell peppers that you can add to your dishes in generous amounts. Remember, these mushrooms already have strong smell and flavor, so a few slices or a little shavings will do.

• Eat them raw. Cooking truffles, especially the white varieties, is not a good idea because it only decreases the strong natural taste. 

• Pair them with the right food. Although truffles can be mixed with any food, certain varieties best complement certain types of food.


1. Oregon white truffles - The most versatile among all types of truffles, Oregon whites are perfect for a wide range of foods. These include white meats, risotto, pasta, eggs, beef, pork, cheese, red wine, wild mushrooms, soup, and the list goes on. In addition, they are the only truffles that can be mixed with tomatoes. You can simmer them into sauces or soups.


2. Black truffles (Italian, French, and Chinese) - They complement red meat, dark meat poultry, red wine, sauces, wild mushrooms, apples, and soups. You can peel and slice thinly a fresh truffle or simmer it slowly.


3. Italian white truffles - They are best paired with eggs, white meat, risotto, and pasta. Add thin slices or shavings of these truffles over the dish. You can also place thin truffle slices under chicken skin before roasting.

• Spruce up your simple meals! Who says truffles are just for gourmet dishes? You can put slices of truffle over fondue, shavings of truffle over rice dishes, or sprinkles of truffle into wild mushroom sauce. You can even grate truffles and add them to scrambled eggs. Simple as that!

Turn your dishes from ordinary to extraordinary by cooking with truffles. Your family and guests will definitely enjoy those dishes in any occasion. 
