Saturday, March 3, 2012

The Magic of Truffle Salt

I used to hear the word truffles and instantly think chocolates...a box of truffles...usually for the dreaded Valentine's Day.

Chocolate truffles.

Dark chocolate truffles.

Crack-dusted, mint chocolate truffles filled with vanilla and finished with angels' tears.

Women just seem to fawn over them. And why not - you can't go wrong with chocolate.

But just recently, I've begun to slowly realize that actual truffles can elicit similar kinds of accolades. I'm beginning to acknowledge in my naive ways...truffles...are the fucking real deal. Who would've thought an underground fungus could be one of those sought after "foodie" treasures, prized for its delicacy, cherished by few.

As a side note, I'm actually not a go-crazy-at-the-site-of-truffles-on-a-menu type of person. But I'll tell you what, when a girl asks what you're cooking and you throw in the word "truffle." You've just upped the ante good sir. You're splashing the pot, but you know what? You can, it's your fucking game.

Hell, throw in the words "drizzled with a little bit of truffle oil" or "sprinkled with some truffle salt" and it's all over.

Or, surprise her.

When she says "Holy shit, thesemashedpotatoesarefreakingamazing! What's in them?"

And you nonchalantly respond, "Oh I added just a little truffle salt to spice things up..."

It's like you've just river'ed the nut straight flush over the poor soul (i.e. the rest of your guy competition) who's now betting into you with his seemingly perfect A's full.

So.

I've piqued your interest.

Now what?

Well, for starters....please don't go out and buy a truffle and think this magical, burnt-cookie-looking thing is going to spontaneously cook itself. They're freaking expensive. (Natasha Shulinina from DC Foodies found a "cheap" truffle for $75 to cook for Valentine's Day)

So I'll provide you with two other options, truffle oil and truffle salt (though nowadays, truffle oil is usually void of actually containing truffles).  Try the truffle salt, Wikipedia's entry on truffle salt is two sentences long. Two sentences! So it's gotta be on the DL right?  Plus, the salt will be easier to work with, offers more versatility, and seriously, who puts truffle oil on popcorn?

I recently bought a 4oz jar of truffle salt for a friend and she's kindof gone off the deep end with it.  She may be obsessed.  Like counseling obsessed.  Truffle salt and popcorn? Sure. Avocado half with truffle salt? Why not. Eggs and truffle salt? Of course. She's probably brushing her teeth with it right now.

I could see it being awesome in:
  • Risotto
  • Toasted bread-a creamy cheese-fresh diced tomato bruschetta appetizer thing
  • Sauteed mushrooms and sweet onions
  • Popcorn
  • Scrambled eggs or hard boiled eggs
  • Roasted veggies with balsamic vinegar
  • Roasted beef or chicken

So order some. Try it out. Pimp out your new recipes. Life will be good.

Shout out to Janel at @DietitianJanel for pointing me towards truffle salt and pimping out Salt Works (where I ordered my black truffle salt).

1 comment:

  1. Truffle salt is definitely A-game. I've never tried it on popcorn, thanks for the idea.

    I do love it on eggs though, really elevating such simple things one punch at a time.

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