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| Truffles have twidges |
The rumors of the death of our blog are exaggerated. I personally admit, however, to being distracted for months by my introduction, at an advanced age, to real fresh white truffles from Italy and the resulting obsession they have created. I have been the victim of a delicious distraction from the important work which is blogging about lunch in the Gump. Why, most of my retorts to statements about the "fiscal cliff" are usually: "What does this have to do with truffles?" or "How will this affect the cost of truffles?" or "Can truffles be grown at the bottom of cliffs?" While it is somewhat of a blessing to be addicted to something so rare and expensive that a high-level "Statey" could never afford enough to ever need rehab, the realization that there are no restaurants in the Gump actually serving them does bring on the need for excessive amounts of Rye Whiskey and maudlin recollections of "American Pie." Such is a life of perpetual trade-offs.
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| Scallops, black garlic, "truffle" and mushroom risotto at La Jolla. |
This post is not only about truffles, but about a dinner at
La Jolla where they purport to serve
"Pan-Seared New Bedford Scallops with Black Garlic, Truffle and Mushroom Risotto" for less than $30. I was a little skeptical. After all, truffles are
the most expensive food in the world. They cost up to $3,600 a pound. So, although a part of an over-large group of loud locals, I specifically asked the waiter whether the dish "really" involved truffles. I was assured that it did and that the truffles cost $50 per oz. I decided to put my doubts aside, and order the scallops.
Now, had I not just returned from
San. Gimignano in Tuscany, perhaps the meal would have fooled me. It was quite good and certainly worth the price. But, once you have tasted a dish cooked with fresh white truffles from Italy or France, you are unmanned and ruined. Nothing else tastes like truffles.
"
The Trouble with Truffles" which aired on 60-Minutes in January 2012, laid out the scandal which is the infiltration of Chinese and Oregon truffle knock-offs into American cuisine. I would wager that the "truffles" used for my dish were not Italian or French white or black truffles but rather were the relatively tasteless variety from China or Oregon.
And don't get me started on truffle oils. Although I have heard that oils from
Urbani or
Antica are genuine and a
great way to introduce yourself to cooking with truffle flavor, many so-called "natural" truffle oils are usually not made from real truffles but from chemical recombinations derived from one of the main components found in real truffles. High price is also no guarantee of the use of real quality truffles.
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| Truffle hunting dog before a truffle hunt with an interesting band of truffladours |
How can I write of truffles without paying homage to the talented beasts that find them? Allpots used to bore me with his whiskey-infused memories of his pet truffle-hunting pig Mortimer. Not any more. Not since my senses were awakened. But I will tell you that the pigs are no longer the hunter of choice for serious truffle-hunting. Why you ask? Well, the same reason one should never trust me to hunt them: The pigs eat them unless you stop them immediately when they locate a truffle. Very intelligent reaction I say. Dogs, on the other hand, although less intelligent have great noses and can be trained not to bother the truffles. Indeed, there is a '
Truffle Hunting Dogs' website in the U.S. for dogs "worth their weight in gold."
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| Preparing a young Gumpund Shedder for a hunt. |
You may also find it interesting to know that by far the best truffle hunters in the world are a breed which originated in our area. Indeed, the noble Gumpund Shedder*--a breed of which our own Shadow Pup belongs--has shown terrific abilities to find truffles without damaging them. Apparently, it has something to do with spending their young puppy weeks in the Humane Shelter that gives them a sensitive nose.
So now you know a little more about truffles than you knew before you stumbled upon this blog. If you ever enjoy the real thing, you will savor true truffle joy not to mention that you can have fun with the word "truffle" because it sounds funny and rhymes with trouble. Trouble indeed is what you will have if you enjoy truffles too much for, at the very least, you will risk plunging over the "fiscal cliff."
As for me, see you at the bottom of the cliff.....
Whiggin a/k/a "Whiggy B in the Velvet Undershorts"
*Shortened version of the full name: American Gump Pound Shedding Mutter.
