‘A unique, very savoury flavour. We love using it’
With a unique, earthy flavour, truffles are a must-have luxury ingredient in the world’s top kitchens, according to acclaimed chef Dean Banks.
Hard to both cultivate and source – and expensive as a result – the fungi adds a depth of flavour that can’t be rivalled.
“Coca-cola tastes like Coca-cola, Irn-bru tastes of Irn-bru, and truffles taste of truffles,” explained Banks, whose St Andrews restaurant, Haar, was recently awarded three AA Rosettes. “It’s a unique, very savoury, mushroom-y flavour that we love using on our dishes at this time of year.
“We currently have a beautiful hake dish with Arbroath smokie, Cullen skink and fermented parsnips and, for an extra £12.50, we add truffle, grating it over the plate at the table. The aroma is absolutely beautiful.”
While Banks describes natural truffle as “a special, intense flavour”, he warns to avoid cheaper, synthetic options.
He continued: “It is a luxury product. That’s why it’s an add-on, rather than a standard element of a dish. On many menus, chefs offer truffle fries and so on, which very often use fake or synthesised truffle, which is absolutely terrible. It’s more like a potent perfume that lingers with you for days. I hate it.
“You do get good truffle oils – real ones are fantastic – but if it’s cheap, it’s probably not the real deal.”
Both white and black varieties of truffle have their own distinct flavour profile, says Dean, but the delicacy grown in the UK has a milder taste: “You can store them with porous items like rice and they will take on the flavour of truffle. Keep your eggs in a tub with truffles for a couple of days, crack them and, boom, you have truffled eggs.”