Truffle: the aristocratic relative of the mushroom

FASCINATING FUNGI

Don’t confuse them with the truffle chocolate. Truffles are subterranean fungi grown in calcareous soils near the roots of broad leaved trees such as oak or hazelnut. They are produced in France, Italy, New Zealand, China, North Africa, the Middle East, and the Pacific Northwest.

LESS IS MORE

When it come to edible truffles, even less is more. Truffles are shaved or thinly sliced and used as a garnish on egg and pasta dishes, cheeseburgers and risotto. “The taste of the truffles is quite powerful. So a little bit of the ingredient enhances the flavour,” says chef Tyagi.

VARIETY

Edible truffles include white truffles, black truffles, summer or burgundy truffles, and garlic truffles. Black truffles have a rough, grainy exterior, that resembles solid clumps of dirt. Their insides are more eye-catching by comparison.

PAIRINGS

Truffles make for a luxe addition in preparations. They slowly unravel flavours in the mouth. Parmesan fondue with black truffle tortellini, grilled ocean lobster with black truffle and the classic scrambled eggs with truffles are some of dishes made using the delicate ingredient. Being exorbitantly priced, truffles are measured in front of the guests and then shaved on the dish.

LUXE AND RARE

White truffles, the most valuable ones, tend to be similar to a rough-skinned potato on the outside. On the inside, they have the kind of marbled mushroom quality that you find in truffles, although in a somewhat diverse form,” says chef Ishijyot Surri.

PRICING

Truffles take up to four years to grow and not all harvests yield success, thus making them super expensive. The most rare Italian white truffles cost over $4000 per kilo. “Exquisite black truffles that we source from Italy are served at ₹ 400 per gram,” says chef Sharma.