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What the heck are ... truffles?
 There are two kinds of truffles in the world. Lucky for you, you can find them both at Tapino. One is a little chocolaty morsel that is usually rolled in powdered cocoa, and makes a tasty sweet little desert nibble. The other is a rare fungus that grows underground on the roots of certain trees in France and Italy. Enough about the little chocolate balls, let's talk about the fungus! Because of their high price (currently about $2,500.00 per pound for white truffles and $1,300.00 for black truffles, retail on the internet) and their pungent taste, truffles are used sparingly - even by people who can afford them! Certainly they are one of the world's most expensive foods. They are so expensive, in fact, that at Tapino, we hardly ever actually buy a whole truffle! The best deals we have ever found involve a little lumpy truffle about the size of a golf ball for $200 bucks. We fear that there might be some backlash and customer resistance if your server were to walk up and say in a snooty fake French accent, " Zis evening's espécial is ze truffle sampleur planchet petite, featuring both ze White and ze Black truffles for only 1800 euros." So, how do we solve that dilemma? Lucky for us, we can buy little bottles of "truffle oil" made by soaking ripe truffles in olive oil to extract the flavor, and little tubes of prepared "truffle paste", that we can hoard and use sparingly to impart the delicate flavor of truffles to dressings and sauces. You can currently find that delicate flavor in the vinaigrette on the asparagus and honshimeji mushroom salad.
Considering that they are so expensive that nobody can actually afford to eat them, truffles are an amazingly wonderful gastronomic experience. If you hit the power-ball lottery, or get a good rate on the refinance of your house, you should try one sometime. Why are they so special? And expensive? To begin with, truffles cannot be domesticated. All of them come from the wild. Furthermore, they have strange aphrodisiacal powers ...
"Truffle" describes a group of edible mycorrhizall fungi (genus Tuber, class Ascomycetes, division Mycota). Truffles are round, warty, and irregular in shape and vary from the size of a quail egg to that of a man's fist. The season for most truffles falls between September and May. Truffles are found anywhere from two to 16 inches below the ground, usually in a circular formation about four to five feet from the base of an oak tree. A number of varieties exist.
The Black truffle, (Tuber melanosporum) comes almost exclusively from Europe, essentially France (45% of production), Spain (35%), and Italy (20%). Small production are also found in Slovenia and Croatia. In France, production is usually around 20 metric tonnes per year. 80% of the French production comes from Southeast France: 20% of the production comes from Southwest France. The largest truffle market in France (and probably also in the world) is at Richerenches in Vaucluse.
The White truffle (Tuber magnatum), superior to the black truffle in smell and taste, hails from the Piedmont region of Northern Italy and, most famously, from the city of Alba. Like the French black truffles, Italian white truffles are very highly esteemed, and very, very expensive.
The Black Summer Truffle (Tuber aestivum) thrives in Northern and middle Italy, but also grows in Turkey and North Africa. It is valued  for its culinary uses and is less costly than either Black or White truffles. Summer truffles don't have as strong of an aroma or taste as winter truffles do. They grow all year round, except for during a short period in the spring.
the Oregon truffle (Tuber gibbosum) is harvested in sufficient quantity to support commercial sales. Although the Oregon truffle industry is in its infancy, it commands as much as $150 per pound for its truffles. James Beard claimed that the mature  American Oregon white truffle could be substituted for European varieties - but he also admitted that they were not nearly as good. Originally found in California, the Oregon truffle grows in association with Douglas fir trees and is a major food source for many small rodents and other forest critters. The cultivated Oregon white truffle lacks the complex, peppery-garlic aroma and taste of its more familiar French Piedmont counterpart. However, it does have other intense flavor and aroma notes. Straightforward and powerful, the cultivated white truffle is the dark, rich essence of pure earth and potent, tangy musk.
Truffles grow only in the fall and winter, and only in a very few regions where temperatures and rainfall are just right. For black truffles, the growing season runs from November to March; for white truffles, it's generally September to early January. Although France is reputed to have the best black truffles and Italy has the best white truffles, they are not limited to these areas and also grow in other parts of the world.
 The ascoma (fruiting body) of truffles is highly prized as food. Brillat-Savarin, the renowned 17th century gastronome, called the truffle "the diamond of the kitchen" and praised its aphrodisiac powers. While the aphrodisiac characteristics of truffles have not been formally tested here at Tapino, we don't doubt that they exist. Truffles are still held in high esteem in traditional French, northern Italian and Croatian cooking, and in international haute cuisine, with or without their ... ahem ... "special" qualities. "The most learned men have been questioned as to the nature of this tuber, and after two thousand years of argument and discussion their answer is the same as it was on the first day: we do not know. The truffles themselves have been interrogated, and have answered simply: eat us and praise the Lord." Alexander Dumas(1802-1870)
White truffles are generally served uncooked and shaved over steaming buttered pasta or salads. White or black paper-thin truffle slices may be inserted in meats, under the skins of roasted fowl, in foie gras preparations, in pâtés, or in stuffings. Some specialty cheeses contain truffles as well.
The flavor of black truffles is far less pungent and more refined than their white cousins. It is reminiscent of fresh earth and mushrooms, and when fresh, their scent fills a room almost instantly.
 Since the times of the Greeks and Romans these fungi have been used in Europe as delicacies, as aphrodisiacs, and as medicines. In the early 1800's large tracts of land in France were set aside for the cultivation of truffles. Thousands of truffle-producing oak trees were planted, and production reached peaks of hundreds of tons at the end of the 19th century. In 1890 there were 185,000 acres of truffle-producing trees in France. In the 20th century however, with the growing industrialization of France and the subsequent rural exodus, many truffle fields (champs truffiers or truffières) returned to wilderness. Also, between the two world wars, the truffle fields planted in the 19th century stopped being productive. (The average life cycle of a truffle-producing tree is 30 years.) Consequently, after 1945 the production of truffles plummeted, and the prices skyrocketed. In 1900 truffles were used by most people, and on many occasions. Nowadays, they are a rare delicacy reserved for the rich, or used on very special occasions.
In the last 30 years, new attempts for mass production of truffles have been started. Eighty percent of the truffles now produced in France come from specially planted truffle forrests. Nonetheless, production has yet to recover its 1900s peak. It is estimated that the world market could absorb 50 times more truffles than France and Italy currently produce. There are now small, commercial truffle-growing areas in Spain, Sweden, New Zealand, Australia, and even North Carolina.
 Truffles are harvested in Europe with the aid of female pigs or truffle dogs, which are able to detect the strong smell of mature truffles underneath the surface of the ground. Pigs were the most popular truffel sniffers in the past, but nowadays farmers prefer to use dogs, which do not eat the truffles. Both pigs and dogs have keen senses of smell, but while dogs must be trained to the scent of truffles, female pigs, or sows, need no training whatsoever. The female pig becomes excited when she sniffs a ripe truffle. The use of pigs is risky, though, because of their natural tendency to eat any remotely edible thing. For this reason, dogs have become the preferred assistant for the modern truffle hunter! Some truffle merchants dig for their prizes themselves when they see truffle flies hovering around the base of a tree. Once discovered, truffles can be collected in subsequent years at the same site.
 In Italy, truffle dogs are trained in several steps. First, the dog is taught to retrieve a rubber ball. Next, a small bit of smelly Gorgonzola cheese is substituted for the rubber ball. After the dog has learned to retrieve the cheese, the cheese is hidden, forcing the dog to sniff it out for a reward of food. Finally, a small truffle is substituted for the cheese. The dog is trained to fetch, then dig up the truffle.
Dogs like other food better than truffles, so bread and other treats are used for rewards. The night before a truffle hunt the dog is not fed so it will be eager to find truffles for the treat. Some dogs take the easy way out. They find and eat garbage buried by campers! Dogs generally do not find young truffles because the odor is too weak. The odor becomes stronger with age as the spores mature.
The value of commercial truffles means that there are laws controlling their collection. In Italy, for example, truffle collectors are tested and licensed. There, organizations of land owners called cooperatives control truffle hunting on their property. Unless you are a member of the cooperative, you can be arrested for collecting truffles from cooperative truffle forests.
 The flavor of the truffle is directly related to its aroma. The chemicals necessary for the odor to develop are created only after the spores are mature enough for release, so they must be collected at the proper time or they will have little taste. This aroma is the only sure indication that the truffles are ready to be harvested. That is why animals have proven to be the best means of assuring that the fungi collected will be flavorful.
The rich, almost meaty flavor of the truffle fungi and their ability to intensify the flavor of vegetable dishes are largely due to an abnormally high content of glutamic acid, which makes them a natural version of monosodium glutamate. truffles respire very actively after harvest compared to most produce, and during four days' storage will lose about half of their sugar and starch reserves to chitin."
The glutamic acid content in the tubers may also explain the many instances of people being sickened by eating truffles, Glutamic acid is chemically similar to MSG, and allergies to monosodium glutamate are fairly common.
So.... Back to that Aphrodisiac thing .... Why? you ask, do the female pigs get so excited when they smell a ripe truffle? Well, it's like this: German scientists have discovered that truffles produce a musky chemical compound which has a near perfect resemblance to the sex pheromone found in the  saliva of male pigs, or boars, to which the sow is keenly attracted. It may have been the strange attraction that pigs have to truffles which prompted their discovery by early humans. Also, recent research shows that black truffles contain 5-alpha-androstenol, a sex hormone related to testosterone. (Olympic wanna-be's should not eat truffles - It will get you bounced from the competition) A great deal has been written throughout history regarding the aphrodisiacal property of the truffle, and while no hard scientific evidence has yet turned up to support any chemical substance as being a reliable trigger of sexual desire in humans, It sort of makes sense. Do truffles actually have aphrodisiacal properties? The answer is a qualified yes. Whether a porcine pheromone has any noticeable effect on the human libido is yet to be proven, and in addition, there are too many social and behavioral factors influencing human sexuality to consider any strictly chemical trigger to be a reliable influencer of behavior. Far be it from me to ever make a direct comparison between what attracts pigs to each other and what might attract you to your boyfriend or girlfriend. No! Not me! I know all about political correctness and social suicide! Nope, I would never suggest such a thing!
 But then again, a fine dinner by candlelight, the sweet shaving of white truffles over a perfectly creamy risotto, a tender, blood-rare filet wrapped with wild boar bacon and drenched in black truffle cream, a bottle of magnificent Bordeaux, or even something as simple as Tapino's truffle vinaigrette on asparagus, and surely the atmosphere of romance might well accomplish what the chemical alone cannot. Even if the chemicals in the truffle has no aphrodisiacal properties in and of themselves, the active chemical in the wine most certainly will have an effect Yep, It is still a dish for lovers.
Although it's possible to find canned or jarred truffles out of season, truffles quickly lose their flavor after harvesting, and experts agree that it's best to consume them within a few days after they're removed from the ground. (Black truffles, by the way, release more aroma when heated, whereas heat destroys the flavor of white truffles. So truffle aficionados are always careful to match recipes to the available truffle varieties.) The upshot of this is that unless you live in an area near where truffles are produced, have lots and lots of money, and wait for the right time of year, you just can't have the quintessential truffle experience. But, if you ever do happen to get a fresh one:
Cleaning:
Remove any soil from truffles just before eating. They must be washed with water and brushed. The outside must be immaculate if they will be used unpeeled. Dry with a paper towel.
Storage:
 Fresh truffles (if you are ever so lucky to actually come by one) can be successfully stored in your refrigerator, buried inside a sealed container of dry, un-cooked rice for up to two weeks. After you eat the truffle, you lucky dog, you can then cook the rice and enjoy this delicately scented and flavored treat one more time.
Truffles can be frozen for two weeks in a freezer-proof glass jar. Another recommendation is to store them whole in bland oil.
Long term Storage
1 part truffle, coarsely chopped
3 parts fresh lightly salted butter
Drain all free juice from the truffles (hard truffles will not tend to "weep", though any soft truffles will). Whip butter and truffles together by hand or in a food processor; pack tightly into a sealed jar. Do not can with heat. Make sure the top layer is entirely butter; do not allow any truffle pieces to be exposed on the surface. This product will keep in the refrigerator for up to one year, or indefinitely in the freezer, though some quality is gradually lost over time. If mold grows on the surface, scrape all traces of mold, discard mold and freeze the product.
Cooking
The fungus is scraped or grated onto food and into sauces and soups just before eating. Truffle slicers have been especially designed for this purpose. Cream and cheese sauces avidly take up their flavor.
Insert thin wedges of truffle under the skin of a chicken and store it overnight in the refrigerator before roasting.
Truffle oil
 Fresh truffles are difficult to come by, and expensive. Fortunately, White truffles, the most aromatic of the truffles, is crushed in olive oil in Italy, filtered, and dispensed in 3-ounce medicine bottles with eye droppers. Call local specialty shops to locate this juice. Only a few drops are needed. If you can find a merchant that will let you, you should taste test small samples of at least three or four brands as some manufacturers use methods that include heat and gas (ugh) and result in an inferior product. There are no labeling requirements for white truffle oil in America, so keep this in mind when you purchase an untried product.
Black truffle oil is also sold commercially, and it is subject to the same variations in quality control.
You can make your own truffle oil by storing pieces of fresh truffle in clean, sweet, mild tasting oil. The more finely chopped the truffle is, the more of its essence it will give up into the oil and the less flavor the pieces themselves will retain. Make sure all liquid is drained off from the truffles before adding them to the oil. Any kind of truffle may be used to make truffle oil. Light olive oil and grape-seed oil are good, neutral flavored oils. Store truffle oil in a cool, dark place away from heat, light and oxygen.
Truffle oil that is kept very cold in your refrigerator will whiten and solidify, but this is not necessarily harmful to the flavor. Truffle oil is tolerant of cold, and can even be frozen, but like fine wine it is less tolerant of temperature fluctuations and may lose quality if it is allowed to solidify and liquefy repeatedly. Remove from cold storage only the amount you intend to immediately use, and leave the rest at temperature.
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