Practical suggestions for people who don't want to spend much, but want to
try the famous underground mushrooms so often mentioned in the food world.
Mentioned in the past 150 years by Julia Child, Marcella Hazan, Jacques
Pépin, Paula Wolfert, the Joy of Cooking, the Gourmet Cook Book, Chez
Panisse Cooking, Michel Guérard, Escoffier, Saint-Ange, Molokhovets, Duch,
Mrs. Beeton, the Larousse Gastronomique, the Oxford Companion to Food,* and
Alexandre Dumas. Studied on their home ground in classic food writing by
Joseph Wechsberg and Waverly Root (in both France and Italy).

In the following, you may need to improvise according to local options. But
what I recommend is to get to know a local delicatessen that may be able to
import truffles, or an independent (non-chain) high-end restaurant kitchen
that uses them. Dine at the restaurant at a non-busy time (in the US that
means not, usually, Friday or Saturday night). Talk to the senior cooks,
express your interest. Creative restaurant kitchens often resonate with
sincere food interest by customers. Explain you'd love the chance to sniff
and/or sample good traditional truffles in season. Ask to be alerted when
the season comes around. Of course I can't guarantee, but you may be
surprised how accommodating restaurant kitchens can be to such interest.
(It also helps create good will.)

Season for classic European truffles is roughly November to March.

If you use a delicatessen instead of a restaurant, I suggest again asking to
be alerted when they're available, and try to order a small example of a
classic truffle (like 15 grams, half an ounce), or join with friends and
share the cost of a larger one. Pick up the truffle as soon as it comes in
(it may already have traveled for a while, and they only last a few days,
preferably refrigerated, then they decompose, smelling of ammonia etc.)
Scrub the outside well with a brush (it came from in dirt, after all).
Black truffles especially have rough skin that can trap dirt -- sometimes
people peel them and use the peelings in a well-cooked dish. Once you cut
or shave them, you'll see the trademark canal patterns inside.

Good examples of black-truffle sampling dishes are egg cookery (scramble a
few eggs with shaved or chopped truffle). Or chop the truffle fine and heat
gently in some cream or a mild sauce, salt to taste, toss over pasta. White
truffles usually are not cooked, but shaved thinly over something at the
last moment. Risotto with Parmesan cheese, pasta, toasted bread with butter
or olive oil. Truffles are aromatic, but rarely overpowering.

About 20 years ago I asked an expert for suggestions for a fine white
(Italian) truffle. The expert was the importer (herself from Italy) with a
favorite recipe. Mash the white truffle in a mortar with a similar volume
of good unsalted butter to make a paste. Season slightly with white pepper,
and spread this around the upper halves of breadsticks, finally wrapping
with a thin layer of Prosciutto ham. Serve, if possible, as an appetizer
with Champagne or a delicate white wine.

Marcella Hazan (1978, ISBN 0394498550) gives a remarkable recipe,
Norcia-style spaghetti with black truffles. It's probably wrong for an
economical introduction because it calls for relatively a lot of black
truffle, but it's sure worth quoting. Truffles are ground or grated, then
cooked gently with a little olive oil, anchovy, and a touch of garlic, then
tossed with thin spaghetti. Each pasta strand is coated with fine black
truffle bits. ("This dish should be reserved for lovers. Some pleasures
are too keen to be shared with a crowd. And in this case, too expensive.")

Classic European black and white truffles (the Latin names appear below)
make up at least 99% of the truffle references in food writing (I know,
because I have a lot of it). Once you've tried good examples, you'll have
an informed palate. I suggest also exploring and comparing the less famous,
less expensive truffle species recently available. You may find some you
enjoy, and people's tastes vary. But you also will have gone "to the
source."

Good luck -- Max Hauser


--
* "It is true that some species of truffle exist in N. America, including
Tuber texense, an edible white truffle used by some restaurateurs. But no
one has claimed that this, or any other truffle outside Europe, is a serious
rival to the black truffle of Périgord, T. melanosporum, or the white
truffle of Alba, T. magnatum." -- Oxford Companion to Food (Oxford
University Press, 1999)