Why chefs hate truffle oil

Problem is, truffle oil isn't even made from truffles. It's made from an organic compound called 2,4-Dithiapentane—derived either naturally or from a petroleum base—mixed together with olive oil.

Sure, that happens to be the most prevalant chemical odorant in real truffles, but using truffle oil is the culinary equivalent of dousing a custard with, say, artificial vanilla flavoring, or making soup from a chicken bouillon cube—worse, even.

At least bouillon cubes usually start with real chicken. Can you think of a single great chef who'd dream of using such artificial flavorings in their food? So what made truffle oil different? As fine dining became more mainstream, more and more ordinary folks started hearing about what truffles were, about their extraordinary scent, and the extraordinary cost associated with them.

Truffle oil was a quick, easy, and cheap way to give'em a taste. Since back in those days, most people had no idea what a truffle was supposed to taste like, chef's, seeing the dollar signs, thought to themselves, "what's the harm in pulling one over on a couple of rubes? It's like saying, "I can't stand fruit" after having been raised only eating Jolly Ranchers.

And it worked. For many many years, diners—either legitimately tricking themselves into liking the flavor of the fake stuff, or more likely, not wanting to appear uncultured when they claimed not to like truffles—simply put up with it.

I know many diners these days who swear up and down the line that they simply don't like truffles, despite the fact that most of them have never even tasted a real truffle. So what? What's the problem? Even if it doesn't taste like truffles, as long as it tastes good, who cares?

Well, here's what I have to say to that: It doesn't taste good. It bears a passing resemblance to truffles at first whiff, but it quickly devolves into metallic, gasoline-scented notes, particularly at the concentrations that chefs seemed to use it in in the '90s. That diners actually put up with the stuff for as long as they did is perhaps one of the greatest examples of mass pyschosomosis in history. Fortunately, most diners and chefs these days have come to realize it, and truffle oil is becoming more and more scarce.

I chatted with a couple of chefs who went through the truffle mill in the '90s about their current thoughts on the matter.

Michael Anthony, of New York's Gramercy Tavern is diplomatic about the issue, saying that "I decided a number of years ago to stop using truffle oils. Once or twice a year, usually for New Year's Eve, we create a blow out menu which will include fresh truffles. They are a rare, expensive treat and it only seems sensible to celebrate them by tasting the real thing.

Jason Bond of Cambridge's Bondir agrees with the "ingredients should taste like what they are" philosophy: "I prefer to let ingredients taste like themselves and truffles taste as they should, unamplified. If the truffle isn't coming through in the dish, you shouldn't amp up the truffle, you should lower the ambient noise around it.

Other chefs were nowhere near as subtle about their disapproval. Tony Maws of Craigie on Main is even more blunt. Perhaps there is some quality stuff out there but I'm scarred by the combination of overuse and ubiquitousness from food and cuisine in the nineties.

Like adding truffle oil made one's food more luxurious! Plus the metallic, punch-you-in-the-face, chemical flavor that floods the palate and nostrils is just plain overwhelming and nasty. It's Tony's sentiments that I agree with the most. The stuff tastes bad, plain and simple, and having to not only endure it for so many years, but actually having people say things like, "the pasta was great—it had truffle oil ," as if that instantly elevates a dish has scarred me to the point where I'll actively avoid restaurants where I get even a whiff of it or spy the cursed tiny bottles sitting in the kitchen.

Thankfully, this avoidance has become a relatively easy task these days though pizzerias still seem especially prone to overtrufflitis , but there's one place where its use is still ubiquitous: high end catering. Really cute and tasty looking miniature Egg McMuffins on tiny homemade English Muffins with a nice aged cheddar started off tasty, until your entire head got filled with the unmistakably chemical-laden scent of truffle oil.

Little grilled cheese sandwiches with a tasty apple compote start out nutty, tart, and perfectly balanced, until your nose is taken for a spin by a strong whiff of the nasty oil, undoubtedly bottled by the devil himself.

Ah , I said to Erin— here comes something that will surely be free from the gasoline-scented, metallic crud. Miniature taco shells, stuffed with a cold shrimp salad. I picked one up and confidently brought it to my mouth, popping back the whole thing in one go.

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From asksawal. As Season 2 of "MasterChef" returned to Fox on Monday night, there was plenty of tension and drama and leg-pulling. There was also a break in programming to talk about the most ridiculous, worthless cooking ingredient on the market, and why you are a cooking neophile if it has a spot in your pantry: White truffle oil. I had no idea that From latimesblogs. Answer 1 of 5 : I don't. Some do.

Flavor infused oil is a nice way to preserve certain flavor compounds that would be lost if one used the much more expensive original flavorant onto it.

In most high-end kitchens both are used. The truffles in dishes where the texture, taste, and volatility o Heat a large nonstick pan over medium-high heat. Add the olive oil and gently place the salmon into the pan, skin-side down. Cook for minutes, turning occasionally..

Truffles do. So it's a little different situation. I think using a tiny most of the hate comes from using too much IMO amount of truffle oil and ALSO incorporating some other mushrooms can come to a close approximation of the real thing without literally spending a months rent on ingredients. From reddit. However, the rumors are true: the majority of truffle oil isn't actually made with truffles.

The main ingredient is often a chemical designed in a laboratory to mimic the aroma of truffles synthetic 2,4-dithiapentane. From risingtideco-op.