Why are Truffles so expensive? Are they worth it?
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📚 Videos & Sources mentioned:
▪ Truffle Hound by Rowan Jacobsen ➡ amzn.to/3TteNpv
▪ Truffle Aroma Characteristics Research:
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/arti... most critical aroma compound,effective olfactory characteristics [12].
▪ Business Insider: Why are truffles so expensive ➡ • Why Real Truffles Are ...
▪ Made with Love - "Truffle Hunters" ➡ • Truffle Hunters | Umbr...
▪ Truffle farming in Australia ➡ • Truffle farming in Aus...
▪ The Truffle Hunters (trailer) ➡ • THE TRUFFLE HUNTERS | ...
▪ On Food & Cooking by Harold McGee
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⏱ TIMESTAMPS:
0:00 Are Truffles actually worth it?
1:30 Check out my favorite cookware!
2:22 Why are truffles so expensive?
6:02 What is the flavor of truffles?
12:29 Pause & Digestion
14:20 Are truffles better shaved or grated?
19:55 Should you cook with truffles?
24:55 What's the right amount of black truffles for pasta?
29:10 Fresh white truffle vs black truffle
30:27 What's the best-tasting truffle substitute?
34:36 Does truffle oil taste like fresh white truffle?
37:25 Final answer
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Notes & Corrections: 1. This is probably my last video for this year...what ingredients should we explore in 2024? 👀 2. Just realized, I misquoted a reference in the video: 9:42, 11:55, 12:12 - These quotes are from "Truffle Hound" by Rowan Jacobsen: amzn.to/3TteNpv (highly recommend btw) "The Truffle Hunter" is the movie! - Also as always the other references to articles and videos are in the description. The aroma overview is really good extra reading. 3. I pronounced Dithiapentane incorrectly throughout the whole video (☠). It's supposed to be "dye-thigh-a-pentane". 4. Correction around the 2:30 mark -> Similar to mushrooms, truffles are the fruiting body of the fungus, except they grow underground, in symbiosis with a tree. Other types mushrooms also can live in symbiosis with it’s surrounds. 4. Also thank you again to Made In for sponsoring the videos this year, if you are looking for some last minute gifts you know where to look ➡ madein.cc/1223-ethan
Do you know where I could buy some? I wouldn’t mind trying them myself they are hard to find
Aromatics face off. Sofrito vs mirepoix vs holy trinity versus Asian base aromatics
A deep dive into canola and vegetable oil versus animal fats for cooking would be an interesting deep dive.
Lets round out that mac and cheese series please!
Would love to see a video on the best way to make French fries. Boil freeze then fry, fry, freeze then fry, what’s the best tasting oil for fries, etc
Hey Ethan; love your work as always and I can't wait to dive in, but as a mycologist I have to make one correction! Truffles and Mushrooms are both the fruiting bodies of fungi. A lot of fungi that produce mushrooms as their fruiting bodies also live in symbiosis with trees, for instance Boletus edulis (penny bun or cep). And, a lot of fungi feed on other things than dead wood, for instance roots, decaying leaves, live or dead wood, sometimes even other fungi! So, the segment at 2-3 minutes is inaccurate. Thanks for sharing your culinary expertise with us and have a great day!
Came to say a variation of this, but you said it much better :D Thanks!
Thank you for your input. Im not a mycologist, just a guy who forages and learns about mushrooms, and that part made me pause. Just because its underground, doesnt means its not a mushroom. Its still a fruiting body of mycelium, with spores, it lives in symbiosis with trees like many above ground shrooms and its part of the Ascomycota phylum like well known Morels. Regardless, still a very interesting video. I see truffle oil for months now and was wondering how can it be so cheap compared to the raw mushroom.
Morels, another culinary mushroom that is largely collected wild, also lives symbiotically with the trees. It does tend to fruit around dead trees, which is how I think this common idea that mushrooms only eat dead trees came about.
Thanks for the information! How would you clarify that section? (I'll add this to my pinned comment): Mushrooms and Truffles are both in the fungi kingdom, but are a different family (Tuberaceae vs ?) or are there mushrooms in the Tuberacea family? Some mushrooms also live in symbiosis with trees such as Boletus edulis (penny bun or cep)!
@@EthanChlebowskiThe term "mushroom" is pretty loose. Basically any fruiting body of a fungus, that has spores is a mushroom, regardless if its below ground, on the ground or on a tree. Its not a taxonomic rank like kingdom, phylum, class, order, family, genus or species. Tuberaceae are a family within the kingdom of Funghi, and mycorrhizal fungi refers to fungi that live in symbiosis with plants and trees, and ecompasses more than just Tuberaceae, but other on-ground mushrooms as well.
The end question: “If truffle was as cheap as garlic, would you use it all the time?” Is a fantastic way to add further context. Thanks!
If truffle was as cheap as garlic, I would definitely use it all the time. Salt, pepper, truffle. Can you imagine what a bit of grated truffle would do on any steak?
I'll answer it with a question. Do you like the flavor of things because of how much those flavors cost?
I'm not following you. What context does it add?
@@erik3371What he means is... if price was not a consideration... that is, everything costs the same.... you could use any flavor you want at any time... would you use truffle?
So basically, What is the difference between truffles and Cocaine? If the effect is ultimately, greatly affecting your Brain neurotransmitters (and associate addictiveness )…?
A mustard video would be cool. Different dry products (different colored seeds, dry powder), different processed mustards, different ways to make homemade mustards. And seeing you tear up ftom eating mustards would be pure entertainment. lol
1000% agree with this
As a plebe foodie, I definitely have more interest in how to prepare a great mustard sauce than I am in which truffles (none) I'm most familiar with! (Didn't stop me from enjoying the video, obvs.)
Ooooo
Golden's Spicy Mustard or a whole grain mustard ftw.
If you do, I would be in heaven, and might even share my great grandmother's toasted black mustard with horseradish root recipe. Major yum!
For the folks interested in the predominant aroma compund of Black Truffles, from the paper I skimmed it appears to be 3-ethyl-5-methylphenol which is smokey/woody/musty. That said other prominent compounds had profiles of cruciferous vegitables, butter, and even orange/bananna/pineapple. Since the video discusses white truffles compounds thought id save someone else the compulsive google search.
I always wondered why the more premium flavor companies don't chase the smaller percentage chemicals to synthesize/find? Like, it has an additional one-time research cost, but wouldn't that further the appeal of their product? Similarly to how we saw grape flavoring get significantly better over time, I'd think a premium product like this would be an excellent use-case of the R&D time to synthesize more than just one flavor note for.
I also want to nitpick that “2,4-Dithiapentane” is pronounced “2,4-di-thia-pentane” like “dye-thaya-pentane” (which basically means pentane with two sulphurs in 2 and 4 positions). But that doesn’t make Ethan a lesser food scientist, just a minor chemistry thing
Do you know why they use Black summer truffle if it's odorless? Is it purely just so they can label it "truffle" paste? Or does it contribute to the taste
@@Benw8888specifically for ingredient labeling
thank you!
Went on a truffle hunt in Rome with dogs and after the tour our guide took us to his mom's place who cooked us over 10 Italian dishes with fresh truffles we had found..........It was a foodie religious experience I will never forget!!!!!! Keep up the great work on the videos Ethan and Happy New Years to you and yours as well!
How did you find this excursion? Do you remember the name of the business?
This sounds really fun! Also interested if you remember the business name?
I heard from an interview that many touristy truffle hunts are rigged. They "pre-hide" the truffles so that they can be found by the tourists lol. But going to someone's house to eat those truffles sounds AMAZING.
In Rome? Don't think so, even outside of Rome the truffle hunting is lackluster and now mostly a tourist experience.
Must be nice… 😒
I work in a grocery store pizza shop and we have a mushroom truffle pizza. The paste we use to make the sauce is “truffle” but it’s really button mushrooms mixed with truffle oil. If the jar we used was all truffle it be easily be $1000 a jar but it’s nowhere near that.
Truffle oil is synthetic
I used to have truffle topped pizza at an "Italian" pizza chain operating in Hungary. They were tasty slices with a strong, characteristic aroma and not much more expensive as the other offerings there. Now I see why.
I loveeee mushroom truffle pizza. Even the one at the regular grocery store is 🔥 add some white truffle oil on top and wa-La!
Since I actually far prefer the taste/aroma of black winter truffles over white truffles and had been making my own infused oils (try making your own Mayu (Black Garlic Oil)), I decided to make an actual "real" black truffle oil. I grated a black winter truffle into a tinted mason jar containing just under a cup each of light olive oil and fractional coconut oil (often called "liquid coconut oil"). The truffle to oil ratio was about 1:19 or 5%. I used those two oils because they both have a long shelf life (2+ years and 3+ years), very little flavor, and extraction efficency. An important point is to make sure that the truffle is shaved directly into the oil and the jar sealed right after to avoid losing as little of the volatile molecules as possible. Then store it in a cool dark place for six months, giving it a shake every week or so. When I finally broke it out and sampled it, it was like no truffle oil I had ever tried before. While not quiet as good as fresh winter black truffle I would call it an ~75%. Considering that I got 20x the volume I was more than happy with it. I used it as a finishing oil for anything I wanted to impart actual truffle flavor to. Would completely recommend for anyone who loves black truffles and would like to be able to experience them year round.
I have been told that one of the reasons that truffle shavings in oil aren't used is a food safety issue - there is a small possibility of potentially harmful bacteria on the truffle growing slowly over time even if they are small truffle particles in oil. The worst-case scenario being botulinum growing in the truffle and releasing botulisim toxin. The chances of this are extremely low, of course, and home cooks have been infusing oils with things like garlic and herbs for centuries without much incident as long as the oil is used within a year or so. Make your own decision based on your common sense, I personally would have no problem eating a truffle oil like you have made :)
Olive oil is too acidic for the truffle aromas. The way to make "truffle oil" is to use - grapeseed oil - that has more delicate acidity and taste profile. But. as a truffle grower, i would not go the "oil" rute. Its not that stable. Nevertheless, im happy (and suprised) you got a good result!
@@Tarantee I used a blend of ~20% light olive oil (lower aroma/flavor) and ~80% fractional coconut oil (actually slightly alkaline). Ph was just over 7, so not acidic at all.
So, it makes me wonder: could adding a bit of the oil and half the fresh truffle get you to 90% of the taste of the full quantity of fresh truffle and no oil?
I was asking myself if a real black truffle oil could be made, so thank you for answering that question!
Truffle oil always reminds me of watching cooking competition shows, like Chopped. Whenever a chef decides to put truffle oil on top of their dish, they always get eliminated. You'd think they'd know better. Haha.
What an interesting observation! 😂
Because it can easily overpower the whole dish.
Yea, I think I've seen one or two people be eliminated from Master Chef the same way.
To start off, I have crohn's disease, and it makes it more difficult to process food. I started binging your videos after a very long hospital stay from a flare and resulting complications, and needless to say, it has helped me to create foods that are more well tolerated and more delicious! I would love to see you explore some gluten-free cooking and possibly compare different brands of gluten-free noodles. I tried a modified version of your spinach pasta with ingredients that I had, and it was to die for! To reiterate, your videos have made it so I can make food that doesn't hurt me, and that is absolutely delicious!
What do your poops smell like?
I don't know what living in that condition is like, but I had to cut dairy and gluten/wheat from my diet without choice (they make me very sick in odd ways), and choose not to eat meat (including fish) or egg, mainly after developing a personal and very visceral sense of disgust around seeing those things as food. So needless to say I definitely empathize with having food limitations fall on you seemingly out of nowhere and the slow process of meticulously re-learning cooking without ingredients almost everybody around us takes for granted (for example, figuring out the seemingly endless rabbit hole of gluten free flour blend ratios, how to use psyllium husk as an egg replacer in baking and bread-making, and cooking/baking without butter). Ethan's channel really is a blessing and I hope he doesn't take for granted just how helpful his informative videos are. 🧡💙💜 Much love.
@@mikeexits what do you think this person's poop smells like?
Get well soon my friend. Chronic disease is really rough. Sending you hugs and tons of extra spoons over this holiday season ❤
My partner also can't have gluten and I would like to second this idea.
How the hell is he pumping out these high quality documentaries so fast?
Tasty
Because those are not high-quality documentaries. They're not documentaries at all. Those are video documented tests. Documentaries take forever to make and are often too expensive to produce. There are very few documentaries on KZhead. In a documentary you need to find someone else that have the knowledge and interview them and document their work. And often it's more than one person or even more than one organization/business. KZhead doesn't pay enough to finance high-quality documentaries. If that was a documentary, he would be interviewing chefs and truffle oil manufacturers and probably a truffle expert. But this video is probably more useful to someone who might want to use truffles or substitutes in their own cooking.
Exactly as @tonymouannes said... he's pumping out high quality food video-blogs. Not documentaries. Don't get me wrong, I absolutely love these videos. I find them very useful and informative. But, I'm a home cook that might want to use truffles or substitutes in my cooking.
You don't know what "documentary" is
@@kvdrr From the Oxford dictionary: "a film or a radio or television programme giving facts about something". Aside from this not being a TV or radio programme, what part of the definition does not fit?
I'm a photographer and once I was sent to Lorgues, France to photograph a restaurant and hotel named Chez Bruno. Their specialty was incorporating truffles in many of their dishes. It was interesting to taste some of the dishes which mainly were very subtlety infused with truffles--I remember a vanilla ice cream with truffle that I thought was great. Chez Bruno is still open and I believe run now by Chef Bruno's two sons.
That's pretty sweet!
We are sheep farmers in France and have quite a lot of land in the Black Mountain region. The soil there has a few different qualities but on a couple of our land lots we have naturally accuring truffles at the base of our trees. So sometimes we go digging to find a couple for our personal use. it's pretty cool when you see the sheep dogs sniffing around the trees
That sounds lovely, I'm rarely fancy with food but cool artisan cheeses from small farms and truffles are my rare luxury. Is sheep milk used for cheesemaking traditionally? If you have fibre sheep , if you don't mind me asking - How would one go about acquiring freshly shorn, unprocessed fleece? Is it true that the fiber price has made it less lucrative to keep wool bearing sheep?
As a chemistry nerd I feel compelled to point out it's dye-thigh-a-pentane. pentane - 5 carbon chain with no double bonds, dithia - 2 sulfur functional groups, 2,4 - the sulfur groups are attached to the 2nd and 4th carbons in the chain
Thank goodness I'm not the only one. The videos are very good, but the pronunciation makes me feel like one of the kids in class during the substitute teacher Key & Peele sketch. "Do you wanna go war, Bulakee? Cuz I'm fuh real."
The old rule is "never make fun of someone prouncing latin based words wrong because they went to the trouble of learning it from a book" applies. But yes. I'm still cringing every time he butchers the word.
Would it be thio- instead of thia-? If not, when do you use one over the other?
@@joewiddup9753 Words are said however they need to be said to get the point across. If you're understanding what is being said, the word was not butchered.
@@joewiddup9753 Hmmm, "2,4 dithiapentane": its Greek to me.
Lots of mushrooms form symbiotic relationships with trees. It's just that you won't find those in grocery stores year-round for cheap because they can't be farmed. Chantarelles and porcini are two famous species that interact with trees the same way truffles do.
Also Amanita Muscaria, the species that he literally showed while talking about mushrooms feeding on decaying matter, is symbiotic, too :D Most wild mushrooms are.
Some of the Mycorhizal edible culinary species are: Porcinis/King & Queen Boletes/Boletus Edulis/Boletus Rubriceps, Chantrelle/Cantharellus & some Craterellus, Some Amanita sp., Hawk’s Wing, Hedgehog, Old Man of the Woods, Russula, Matsutake/Pine Mushroom, Morchella/Morels (though some Morel sp. can be saprotrophic) Some edible/culinary saprotrophic/parasitic species are; chicken of the woods, hen of the woods/Maitake Agaricus sp. such as common white button mushrooms/crimini/portabella/woodland mushroom/ meadow mushroom/horse mushroom, Oyster Mushrooms, Champignons/Merasmius Oreades, Wine Caps, Wood Ear, Shitake, Enoki/Velvet Foot, Lions Mane, Honey Mushrooms, Some Morel/Morchella (though most are mycorhizal).
The part about the chemical compound finally explains my confusing experience with truffle products. I've had some real fresh winter black truffle and white truffle in restaurants (on a risotto or pasta) nultiple times. And then at some point my mother started using truffle oil and it smelled so different from black truffle and more like a very strong smell of white truffle and it utterly confused me, because the labelling on the oil says it uses black truffle. Thank you for educating about this.
they dont even use white truffle for that :D and its the cheapest black if there is something to be seen... otherwise its just chemistry :)
Please do this same concept with chicken stock. There are so many variants and I think it would make a great video.
He already discussed that the best chicken stock is either homemade and for 2nd place: Better Than Bouillon™ in water.
Real chicken noodle soup is made fresh with the whole chicken, so that it gets all the marrow, including from the chicken neck.
Greatest food quote of all time. "Shaving a bunch of truffles over a dish doesn't make it good, it just makes it expensive." ~Rick Bayless, on Top Chef Masters.
Wish I'd learned that decades ago. 😢
Truffle is delicious tho.. Tbh
"On the other hand, micro-planing a truffle over a dish turns garbage into gourmet.." -this guy, probably.. 😅
I felt so bad for my mom on thanksgiving this year because she bought some 'truffle balsamic vinegar' to finish a dish with and the fake truffle smell was so strong and nasty that we ended up not even using it lol
I have always hated most truffle products as they immediately smell "chemical" to me. Something about one note permeating an entire product. That doesn't happen in nature. The smell of black truffle, though, is indeed different and closer to historical descriptions, so my guess is most authors from decades past were referring to other types and somehow the entire industry shifted to "white truffle" as the go-to in the last few decades. My guess is a combination of profit margins and the idea of pricier being "better", combined with it being the version with most of the taste being in one specific compound (and easy to try to fake).
I found out recently that these things smell differently to different people because there's a gene for a receptor that you may or may not have that makes it smell foul
@@Chiborino It thankfully doesn't smell foul, just painfully artificial. Like how artificial peach flavor is nasty and nothing like a real peach. Artificial cherry is similar. Tastes.. nothing like a real cherry.
Personally I love chocolate with truffle taste that is obviously not made with real truffles
@@user-rb6xu2pn7j Which is also fine. I think of it and "wasabi" and other similar manufactured tastes like... blue raspberry. Not remotely real, but so often used that it's its own flavor now.
Huge thank you for lowering down sounds of chewing sounds. Helpful to watch.
Suggestion from someone grown in Tuscany, very close to places famous for their truffles: look for the spring (march) white truffle! It costs way less than the Magnum, a bit more intense (and just a little less complex, maybe) for a huge price difference. Oh the amount of times we spent like 5€/person with friends to make butter truffle tagliolini with friends... Amazingly good, large portions, yes the price included fresh pasta (the supermarket one, but still good) and good butter.
Been watching Ethan for years and it’s insane how he just keeps putting out exactly the kind of content I want to sit back and watch for 40+ minutes (or hours at a time)
For anyone interested , the sugar in the soil that feeds the truffle are called root exudates This is a very cool rabbit hole to go down. There is very cool shit happening in the soil that we are just learning about
Shaving is better for the texture on some dishes. Usually you can change the thickness on your tool. On a tartare of fassona by example having nice "crunchy" bits of truffle makes a big difference imho !
These deep dive videos have been insanely good quality this year. Well written and executed, very informative, entertaining, useful AND 100% free. Big thanks! Enjoy your well deserved break.
Well, not free exactly. While you're not paying for it with 💰💵💷, you're trading your time in the form of subjecting yourself to marketing, which is a value exchange ;). Nonetheless, it doesn't cost money, and everyone wins!
Well said. In a year where plagiarism, stealing and "reacting" was worse than ever, Ethan produced video after video of very well researched and presented original content. Seriously impressive.
@@pascal6871 He plagiarized and spread misinformation about what truffles are or are not, and clearly doesn't understand taxonomy, anatomy, and morphology of fungi on even a basic level.
Just wanna leave a quick note, this is absolutely the best cooking channel I have seen on this platform, being able to add lasons learned here to my cooking has done wonders for my tastebuds and the the tastebuds of the people I feed. Understanding the process instead of a singular recipie has made me such a better cook where I can apply knowledge to most meals I make. Amazing work as usual with this video, please, keep it up!
This was a great deep dive! Any shot we could get a deep dive on eggs? I've always wondered how different the taste of cheapo bottom shelf eggs compsres to grass fed organic expensive stuff.
Home grown, when the chickens can eat fresh greens/weeds, kitchen scraps, and bugs, and you use the eggs minutes to hours after they are laid, are a revelation. I can't eat grocery store eggs any more. They taste strong and sulfurous to me, and have a rubbery rather than tender texture. If my hens quit laying in the dead of winter (which I can usually prevent by giving them a little extra light), I will buy eggs to use in baking, but we never eat them alone, like fried or boiled.
my in-laws got chickens last year, and have graciously been providing us with fresh eggs. 100% agree, it's such a tender, rich, and creamy sweet experience compared to large-scale commercial eggs. Especially huge difference when using soft yolks like on benedicts@@christajennings3828
Dude i love these videos. I really appreciate you breaking down the science of all ingredients. You really show us people at home that we dont need to waste our money on stuff thats less than par. Thank you so much for your benefit to humanity
Thank you so much for making a video on this! I've always wondered the same about them. Also, I can't get enough of these deep dives you do one food and ingredients, hope to see even more in the future!
Agreed! I can't get enough of these deep dives! So informative, and entertaining. Not only do I retain the information, but I use it everytime I cook.
We are already planning some cool ones for next year!
@@EthanChlebowski LETS GOOO! So excited to see them!
This is pure fucking gold
Ethan, would love to see you do a deep dive on saffron and it's history. Is it really worth the expense and can you taste the difference? Is it mostly just expensive food coloring, or does it truly add a flavor that would be missed if some other source of color were used? Thanks for all you do!
From someone who comes from a country where saffron is used a lot. I have to tell just food colouring is not enough to substitute saffron. Its taste and aroma is quiet complex. The aroma especially can be a little "chemical-ly" + a little alcoholic(the kind used as preservative in foods) on its own. Once that saffron infused water is mixed into deserts/sweets it changes completely, adds a really pleasant, complex taste and flavor to the dish itself
Ethan, I found your channel this year, and it has completely altered and reignited my passion for cooking. I hope you have a great vacation and a very happy holiday. Thank you for all the work you've done. I can't wait for more.
Dude, I must say first and foremost, incredible camera work. The quality, the angles, all exceptional. Secondly, fantastic content and information as always. I very much enjoy the way you dive deep with your research and testing.
These are the kind of videos I live for. A deep dive into interesting ingredients with thorough tests and demonstrations. I always felt ripped off with Truffle oils and other processed varieties. Black and White Truffles are still on my list of delicacies to try fresh. If you’re still up for being a fun guy, you could experiment with Morels and Chicken of the Wood Mushrooms.
Fun story, at my grandma's grocery store I found the book Simply Truffles by P. Wells on clearance. I read the whole thing that weekend and was so intrigued I wrote my visual report on them (probably the only high school report I got 100 on). That same year my little sister finally convinced our parents to let her get a kitten and she named it Truffle. So the truffle products I've tried over the years may not be good for much, but it makes a great name :]
The amount of effort and time put into these style of videos you do are amazing! Awesome video!
I use my truffle shaver all the time. You need to hone in on adjusting it. It was definitely not open enough. Works great for slicing garlic, cucumbers for quick pickling (while adjusted to max open), ginger, almonds, etc. The other benefit to the shaver vs. micro is the truffles don't all clump together while you are eating if it's a dish like a steak or a stuffed pasta where it can't be stirred in. Great video.
Wait you're telling me it works fine to get garlic slices? It may be enough to be worth the cost just for that.
Yeah I think he really missed something on texture with the shaver vs grater point here. Thicker slices really make a difference on some dishes and bring a really satisfying and unique crunch
@@mattia_carciola Basically, the truffle slicer is an ultra-fine mandolin. It will cut incredibly thin slices, because that's what you want for truffles. You can adjust the thickness, but we are talking absolutely tiny thin slices. If you were to slice a garlic clove on a truffle slicer into hot oil, you'd get perfect chips every time.
@@physicsfan314 yeah, it was more of a "it makes sense and I feel quite dumb for never thinking that" lol. It's in the list for when I'll settle somewhere after my studies now.
Ethan, thank you for the great videos you've been putting out. I really appreciate, enjoy and learn so much in each of your productions.
2,4-die-thigh-a pentane (di=2, thia=sulfur). Not 2,4-dith-eyah pentane.
Cant belive it took me so long to watch this. Top quality content from whats become my favourite youtube channel full stop. Loved the insight, I took a huge amount from it. Thanks Ethan!!
Thanks for all the hard work you put into this video, Ethan. It was fascinating! And I loved the Bach cello suite music at the end. 🙂
I’ve never once cooked with truffles but I am still looking forward to watching this deep dive!
One of the reasons Kentucky was the ideal area for bourbon is the limestone-rich waters and soil. I wonder if we could try cultivating them here 🤔
I’m pretty sure they are already doing e
I’ve seen shows of them doing it there
I really appreciate how you approached this video. Great job!
You genuinely make some awesome videos man, keep up the great work!
I'll be in Italy next year for black winter truffle season and was going to pick up some preserved truffle products (you can't bring over any fresh ones), but now I think I'll just enjoy any freshly served ones in dishes over there instead. Great testing and observations.
Since 10% truffle mix was so good, it's time to try 25%, 50%, and 100% versions
There's no such thing as "too much truffle", you just need enough fat to properly spread the flavour. I honestly think that a 25% black truffle and 15% spring white truffle would still be bliss.
@@mattia_carciolaI've never tried "too much *real* truffle" (mostly because it's too expensive!) .... there is absolutely "too much *truffle flavored* something". I've had that too many times.
The research you put into it - respect.
My first watching experience. I liked the way you went about the comparison. Really great tips and if I ever buy truffles, I now know how to use them and won't feel concerned about wasting anything. Thank you, Ethan!
I would’ve loved to see Truff white and black oils tested as they claim to be only infused with real truffles.
"real truffles" maybe, but most of the time it's not the kind they misled you to think.
@@play005517 yeah that’s why I’m curious. They say specifically white or black truffles in the ingredients.
If I had to make an educated guess, I'd say that infusion is the best way to even get truffle oil. As fungi I don't think they'd have a particularly high fat content on their own, and infusing cooking oil is like making tea, almost. The infusion process pulls the flavor/aroma into the oil. tl;dr as long as real truffles were used for the infusion then it's a truffle™️ product
Here’s me sitting here, watching him eat these truffles thinking hmmm 🤔 the only truffle I’ve ever had is a chocolate truffle 😂
hahhahah😞
Same.
Great video! I've been waiting for an educational/beginners guide to truffles and/or truffle substitutes. Thank you for this video! Can't wait to see what you have in store for 2024!
Awesome, helpful video as always. And beautifully shot, too!
I have been agonizing over this for years. I finally understand why my experience with truffles in restaurants has been so inconsistent. I remember being in Italy and they brought out the truffle to grate it. It was a black truffle. I was puzzled because it didnt taste like what I was used to. In the US I've been told by waiters that their truffle oil was made with real truffles. Now I'm not so sure thats a good thing. I love your approach. You're really teaching us a lot. Thanks to having seen some of your other videos about aromatics I immediately thought of using a grater instead of a slicer. This is much better than watching Vincenzo's Plate and listening to him wring his hands about someone doing it "wrong".
Unpopular opinion: sometimes he may be a good source, but he's mostly just another whiny Italian complaining when something isn't like he's used to, without any actual reasoning. (and I'm saying this as an Italian tired by Italians' attitude about food)
@mattia_carciola Agree. I'm so tired of the Food Police. I love Italy but the rules are crazy. No cheese on fish but anchovies on pizza is ok. No cappuccino after 11 a.m. but the reasons vary. Some say it's only for breakfast. Why? Some say the milk is bad for digestion, then go out for gelato after a meal. Ragu is ok with pasta but meatballs aren't. If you crumble up the meatballs is that ok? And Italian food is the most loved in the world but mathematically that's impossible. There are 60 million Italians who claim that recipe deviations in other countries are not real Italian. That means several billion people don't really like Italian food because it doesn't qualify. The Japanese have a pizza that uses ketchup instead of tomato sauce. That can't possibly be Italian foOK? Uncle Roger is equally snippy but at least he's funny. However, I can only watch so many egg fried rice critiques. Haiya!
I love your casually scientific approach to cooking. It has really transformed my own cooking and has made it so much more fun. I feel like an Alchemist!
This is, without a doubt, the best video about truffles I’ve ever seen. Well done. 👏
0:00: 🍄 This video explores the world of truffles, their high cost, and the differences between black and white truffles. 5:15: 🍄 The flavor and aroma of truffles, debunking common misconceptions about truffle products. 9:31: 🍄 The differences between black and white truffles and tests their practical applications. 14:32: 🍽 The difference between using a truffle shaver and a microplane grater to release more aroma compounds from truffles, ultimately finding that the microplane grater is more effective. 19:18: 🍄 The effects of cooking truffles with risotto versus adding them fresh, and discusses the importance of sight in the flavor equation. 24:10: 🍝 The taste of different percentages of fresh truffles in truffle cream sauce pasta, and discusses using truffle products in risotto. 28:49: 🍝 The difference between truffle substitutes and fresh truffles in a pasta dish. 35:58: 🍄 Taste test of fresh black and white truffles, determining their worth and potential substitutes for cooking. 39:24: 🍄 Using truffle products in cooking and the differences between fresh truffles and truffle oil, paste, and powders.
Honestly (and a little embarrassingly), I never knew what truffles were, so when this video came in my recommends I was very interested and I learned a lot. Now I'm excited to try truffles and have an idea if what to expect. Thanks for the education.
Thank you for putting out proper long test videos with a scientific approach. Especially cooking entertainment videos are often complete garbage when comparing things but you do your best to avoid this trap!
I always appreciate how in depth you get with your studies/projects. I'm in my 30s and have never knowingly consumed truffles, but this has piqued my curiosity to jump into a new world of taste. Thanks as always for your awesome content.
You made a subscriber out of me brother. I appreciate the attention to detail, educational value, your cooking abilities and just sheer dedication to providing well rounded content. I could go on and on. Well done!
More than anything I'm glad to see the new blind test spinner. Much more scientific, definitely.
Just wanna say that I have been living for truffle salt recently. As a garnish it's fantastic, the salt really carries that flavour well, and you only need a tiny bit to get lots of flavour. I've been using the same little 100g package for over 2.5 years now, and I use it quite frequently.
This was the most interesting 40 minute video I've seen this year--- I didn't realize how fast time went or how long this video was until you said 'behemoth of a video'... nicely done, you!
Thank you so much for taking the time to make this video. I've tried a lot of different truffle products over the years and been using the same truffle oil time and time again (the flavouring they add is NOT good in my opinion). I've been wanting to make my own truffle oil for some time now and this video gave me the confidence to follow through! I might have to try a paste before I commit though.
Man, I have been trying to get traditional alfredo as good as my old alfredo with cream, and i was feeling like I was faling, so thank you for that little aside.
The original alfredo was used by Italians when they were sick. It's fettuccine, butter, parmigiano reggiano, and salt (in the pasta water). Fettuccine al burro. Alfredo de Lelio made it for his wife when she was sick after childbirth. She wasn't improving so he stepped it up, tripling the butter. She got well. He then started serving it in his restaurant. One day Douglas Fairbanks and Mary Pickford came in and ate some. They were thrilled with it and brought it back to Hollywood. American alfredo is nothing like they make in Italy. There's no cream, chicken, or any other ingredients besides those four.
@@TheRealJBMcMunnbro knows that already
When you've been looking to recreate that truffle flavor you had years ago by trying all sorts of truffle products, not liking any of them, only to find out that what you had to look for was black truffle specifically... Thanks Ethan!
I love your channel and content. It's so nice to get more details on foods and chemistry.
🎯 Key Takeaways for quick navigation: 00:00 🍄 *Truffle Introduction and Experiment Setup* - Introduction to truffles and their high cost. - Conducting experiments to determine the value of truffles and truffle products. 01:36 🥘 *Truffle Characteristics and Sponsor Segment* - Description of truffles' unique properties. - Segment featuring the video's sponsor, highlighting cooking products. 02:31 🌳 *Understanding Why Truffles Are Expensive* - Explanation of truffles' growth and their relationship with trees. - Discussing the difficulties of truffle farming and its impact on their rarity and price. 05:43 🤔 *Truffle Flavor Analysis* - Investigating the actual taste of truffles and their uniqueness. - Debunking myths about truffle flavors and examining truffle products. 11:40 🧪 *Practical Tests with Fresh Truffles* - Conducting various tests to determine the best methods for using truffles in cooking. - Comparing different preparation techniques and their impact on truffle flavor. 24:56 🕵️ *Comparing Truffle Substitutes to Fresh Truffles* - Testing and comparing truffle substitutes like oils, pastes, and powders with fresh truffles. - Evaluating the effectiveness of substitutes in replicating the flavor of fresh truffles. 37:26 🏆 *Final Thoughts and Recommendations* - Concluding thoughts on the value of truffles and their substitutes. - Providing recommendations for truffle use based on the experiments conducted. Made with HARPA AI
Ethan is really gunning for that tax deductible expense on this one huh
😂
That black truffle that you bought wasn't ripe enough tho. The white stuff has to almost disappear for the truffle to be REALLY ready to be harvested, and that usually happens between mid january and first of february. However the christmas market demands a lot of black truffle so a lot of farmers take the truffles before they should to be able to sell it at a higher price. The difference between buying a black truffle between 9-10 of december (normal truffle show dates of Sarrión, Spain) and 9-10 of january can be so big as almost 80% less price between the first and second date. Is mindblowing. And by the way, Tuber melanosporum is vastly superior to Tuber magnatum. But I'm spanish, sooo I might be biased.
That’s some truly amazing research you did! Thank you!
Ethan, this is the best video you have ever made. Awesome job!
Now i know why truffle oil is the kiss of death on cooking show competitions.
Truffles also grow in the Pacific Northwest and Oregon has 4 different truffle species. I’d be interested to know how they stack up against imported truffles from France or Italy. Things I’ve read range from they aren’t anywhere near as good to they are wonderful and taste great.
I have tried both. The first time, I bought Italian Black Winter Truffles. They were amazing! The second time, I found a producer in Oregon. The aroma and flavor weren't as strong, but the taste was good. They also didn't last as long in the fridge. However, the price difference still made it worth it. I'd say, if you haven't tried fresh truffles and want a less expensive gateway drug, Oregon is a good start.
Another amazing video! Keep up the good work, looking forward to what inspirations you come up with next work.
Thanks for this experimentation and information!
I love this channel, because you not only go through theory and science, but also actual experiments with an open mind.
Now we just need a saffron and white truffle recipe.
I love how your videos are structured like research papers
Wow, what a thorough and well put together video. I’m on a long drive right now and really enjoyed this. Thank you.
Your button mushrooms may be wood-decay fungus but that doesn’t mean most mushrooms are. The delicipus porcini and chanterelle are also mycorrhiza fungus like truffles
Truffles are most DEFINITELY mushrooms my friend! Very many trypes of fungi/mushrooms live symbiotically with trees-my lovely hedgehog mushrooms do for example . I highly recommend Merlin Sheldrake's book Entangled Life for a fascinating dive into fungi. Follow that with Peter Wolleben's Hidden Life of Trees!
I was thinking the same thing, glad someone else commented it
A mushroom is a protruding fruit body of a fungus. While truffles are the fruiting body, they don't actually protrude, they're underground, so whether they meet the definition is hazy.
Awesome vid bro! You gave me the best understanding of what truffles taste like than I ever had before.
As usual for this channel, exceptionally well written and produced. Great video.
Ugh you and Guga are going to get me to order some real black winter truffles at this rate. I love my microplane grater for the flavor it produces from everything I grate with it (bought the brand name ones because they were on sale, got a whole set of them including a countertop box grater). I've never had fresh truffles before though, only the oils, so I have no idea what to expect other than everyone saying it tastes amazing
Man.. This is so interesting to learn. I always thought it was weird, that I really REALLY hated that pungent and penetrating truffle taste / aroma?, that is on and in so many products (truffle mayo for instance) But there are very rare dishes, where the truffle is just earthy and subtle, which I enjoy! TIL I just like black truffles and not white ones! Thanks Ethan!
I think historically all types were used and the industry shifted to the most expensive and most singular tasting variety as the "best". I also can't stand the chemical they use. Something about it immediately triggers my "chemical factory" part of my brain as it's too one note and quite offensive. So my guess is that if I had actual white truffle, I would probably find it interesting but not the umami experience I expect due to how the synthetic is everywhere and kind of has ruined it for me. Now I have to try some fresh black truffle. lol.
That was one heck of a video Ethan, well done, I can't imagine the work that went into make this, you really poured all you had to make this as accurate as possible, thankful dedicated KZheadrs like you exist, I'm sold :)
nice one man , great info , will hold me in good stead , thanks Ethan , merry Christmas , see you in the new year
Truffle oil can be a scam, but there are good products, where they use truffle, slice it and then put it in oil. Chef Jean-Pierre sells one for example, that is really high quality.
I live in a sandy ME country in my childhood, we used to camp in deserts, and our grandparents used to teach us how to find white truffles under the sand. after collecting a big amount, they would clean it and cook it with rice and other ME dishes. have I known these would be expensive in the future... I would have become a professional truffle hunter 😂 yes, authentic white truffles taste amazing if you gather them yourself
Actually those are Desert truffles and they are in the family Terfeziaceae, not the family Tuberaceae like the other truffles. They are quite good and were an important culinary item to the bedouin, but they are far more common and much less expensive. There are some people speculating they may be "the next big thing" in the future, but who knows.
@@Tinil0guess I know what to do next time I camp 💵💵💵
Your videos are super well produced and very interesting. Just found your channel, thank you! Merry Christmas/Hanukah and Happy New Year! I’ll see you next year!
Thanks for sharing your findings!
One question I have is, how do you store fresh truffles, AND how long will they keep when properly stored??
Two most common methods... rice in a jar in the fridge, as you see in this video. I've also stored mine wrapped in a paper towel in a ziploc bag in the fridge. I wouldn't keep them more than a few days to a week. Its just, once you slice it, you start to expose the inside to air and moisture, and you start to loose the flavor (as Ethan mentions when he talks about slicing the cells). If you don't think you'll use the whole truffle... buy a smaller truffle. And if you still won't use all of that, just Salt Bae it up and be generous with the truffle you serve on the dish. The best way is to use the whole thing.
I always found the whole truffle oil discussion confusing. Especially when some pundits say it is chemical and not real. Now I know it is summer truffles with the scent chemical added.
Definitely one of your best videos to date
I really loved this video, first one I've seen from you. Love the structure, the approach, everything made sense, this is some quality stuff right here.
Everything's a scam these days.
Always has been lol. There's always been good, honest people and there's always been people who see the opportunity to take advantage of that.
That's late stage capitalism for you, turn everything into a scam and everyone into a scammer profit for profit sake no matter the cost
Capitalism 😇
@@Ogilla I might not get real white truffle, but at least I'm not waiting an hour in line for sawdust bread lol
@@Ogilla Capitalism is when no truffle 😢 the filthy bourgeoisie and their damn... damn.. naturally hard to cultivate fungi? you sound silly.
When you mix up the plates do you refer to it as the truffle shuffle?
Hey Ethan! I love these types of videos; they're so interesting and have helped my understanding of cooking with specific ingredients so much. I would love some form of a "leafy greens" video. I really struggle figuring out how to make salad for just myself - i don't really understand all of the options for purchasing greens and I can never eat all of them by myself before they go bad. Tips on storing and purchasing greens for salad for one and tips for zhuzhing up simple salads would be so helpful.
I havent seen your channel before, just got this as a recommended video. I clicked because I was at a restaurant for New Years and had a pasta with black truffle shavings. assume it was my first time having "actual" truffle. The taste was so different (and you explained why in the video), and BOY was it DELICIOUS. Anyway, back to your video. Gosh! There were so many things I thoroughly enjoyed about this video!! The topic was what initially drew me in and was so well covered, but i got bonus with the recipes you used for testing. I'm definitely using some your recipes ASAP. Also, I loved when you went ham on the alfredo 😂😂😂 That was so funny and real. I diedddd. I am a fan of physical comedy, too; so, I found the peppered-in moments of you fumbling for things blindfolded quite amusing. Thanks for all the work in making this. Happy New Year!