When I was in Italy for the first time, I saw a truffle display that looked almost magical. And because I'd never tasted truffles before, it felt strange to be in that place. I wondered if truffles were really edible and how one would go about cooking one.
The people who made that truffle display seemed to have taken care of all these questions. Truffles are actually pretty simple to make. They're simply caviar, like fish eggs or goose livers. Many books that cover truffles will tell you that the taste of truffles can vary depending on the type of soil they were grown in.
I was surprised to learn that there are three different types of truffles. Black truffles come from the Cavour region of France, Red truffles are known from the Provence region of Italy, and White truffles are derived from a grove in Austria.
There is nothing magical about this truffle display. It is indeed designed to give people a visual image of what they should be expecting to see. A person who has only experienced truffles previously may not be able to identify the color.
One thing that people want to know is how they can prepare them. And, again, the answer is, very simply. While truffles can be prepared in many ways, the way that I do it is by using a basic pack of black truffle salt.
When you buy your truffle salt, be sure to follow the instructions clearly so that the salt will be as effective as possible. In addition, be sure to follow the directions carefully so that you won't add to your truffle salt stock so much as use up all the flavor it has.
What I've found with black truffles is that they taste best when they are made just prior to being eaten. Black truffles in general don't take very long to cook. But in this case, they take longer than you would think because you have to let them soak in the salt first.
Once they are ready, just take them out of the salt and cook them for a few minutes on each side. This takes care of the soaking part and can be done at once. If you want to speed up the cooking time, you can cover the truffles with foil for a minute or two before you begin cooking them.
When you're using red truffles, you'll be cooking them slightly longer to allow the salt to give them more flavor. Red truffles taste best when they are in a glaze, but this time you will have to cook them at the same time.
White truffles take less time to cook, and they can be eaten right away. Simply remove them from the brine and cook them until they are soft. Then place them into a glass jar or any kind of container and put them in the refrigerator to chill.
When you come to meal time, you can either eat them on their own or sprinkle them on top of the dish. For instance, instead of using butter or cream cheese on a casserole, you can sprinkle them on top.
May it be fish, chicken, beef, vegetable, or dessert, you can dress up a meal with truffles. When people say truffles, they often think of chocolate, but the real ones are actually dark chocolate.