are truffles worth it?

why is do they cost so much?

Truffles cost so much because they are hard to find.  You can not cultivate them, only find them semi wild...  I say semi wild because the areas are known where they grow, but it's random their spawning time and growth rate.  Trained dogs (and sometimes pigs) are used to find them.  Dogs are most often used because their easier to train then pigs, and pigs tend to eat them before the people can harvest the truffles. 

Now, there is such a thing as Chinese Truffles which have a much more mild flavour and are much more plentiful and thusly cheeper. 

Depending on what you're going to do with them is what and where you'll have to make the choice of what to use.

White truffles are most used in Italian cooking, where as black would be more for French. 

Both should be used at the end of the cooking process, or used as a garnish.  all Truffles should be sliced as thin as possible.  As they are strong tasting and can easily overwhelm anything their with. 

Often times, most often with Black truffles, is that you'll find near the end that they will start to crumble.  This is ok.  It is a good option to mix some of the dust and smaller bits into arborio rice, or another short grained rice.  Make sure that it is un cooked.  Shaking the rice and truffle bits will allow the rice to take on the flavour and help try the tiny bits out so that it will increase it's shelf life dramatically. 

The larger crumbled bits of Truffle should be added to an oil.  At least some oil of quality, Such as extra virgin olive oil or perhaps grape seed.  To get the most, warm the oil slightly, about body temp. and add the truffles and allow to steep.  The longer you let it steep, the more potent the taste.  Truffle oil, like truffles should be used at the end of cooking, and or as a garnish/condiment.

I'm a cook type dude.  I went to cooking school (in Canada), worked in Switzerland for 6 months (most of my instructors from school are Swiss), worked in some nice places in Toronto and some ok places in Halifax, Nova Scotia..  I was always taught/told that the best were European truffles.  And well, side by side maybe they are.  BUT, over the years of working I've found that truffles are very delicate, that they are very strong (even the mild Chinese ones are strong) and can easily over power a dish.  Also European truffles don't really stand up to heat that well.  They can develop a burnt taste rather easily, and be slightly bitter if over cooked.  Where as, the more mild tasting (and cheeper) chinese truffles are more forgiving. 

If you're going to use shaved truffles as a garnish, use white or black.  If you're going to actually cook with them, I would just use Chinese Truffles.

They can be cultivated, it is just difficult.

Some Japanese guy did it successfully a few years back. It'll probably be some more years of research before it goes to a commercially viable level of industry though.

The areas where truffles are grown are known because they did used to be specifically cultivated to have truffles. WW1 and 2 set back the industry greatly. Before that, truffles in Europe weren't such a big deal and could be bought by larger sectors of society more often.

those japanese are always up to something

I've never ate one. What do they taste like ?

Hey, >>2 here.

Actually the Japanese wrote papers on it, some American guy actually managed to cultivate some though.  The yield from the truffle crop was, is (and is for the foreseeable future) very very low.  The costs for the amount grown put them pretty much at the same price as the wild truffles (sometimes at a higher rate) Though it's only french Black Truffles that they've done. 


>>5
Some people say it's heaven.  Other people say it tastes like dirt.  =/  The flavour is rather strong, earthy.  And well of course Mushroomy...  I didn't like them the first time I had them.  BUT they grow on you, like most fungi do.

>>6
did you intend that pun ?

I has puneded >>7?  I was redundant every..  Tasting like dirt, negative meaning.. Earthy.. more of a positive spin.  ;)

I've never actually cooked with a truffle, I've only used truffle oil. If I remember correctly, black truffles (and their oil) stand up to heat better than white, so white is more often used as a finishing ingredient. (I have no idea of the veracity of that.)

If you smell a straight-up truffle, or even something like truffle salt, the smell *can* be off-putting. But combined with foods, it's indescribably heavenly. Sometimes I'll finish making a soup and think "this needs something extra". ONE DROP of truffle oil and it's enhanced tenfold. It's pretty amazing stuff. (This might sound crazy to most people, but I'd rank its flavor as medium-bodied brown [garlic is heavier, celery is lighter]. Very savory, gorgeously aromatic.)

they cost so much because they are made with love lol