Chef Prem Kumar Pogakula tells how to select fresh truffles and preserve them
Truffle hype is much prevalent around the world due to its luxurious nature, but nowadays chefs are gravitating towards truffles because the exotic ingredient has truly become a chef’s pride. It is quite expensive and not everyone can afford good quality truffles, but finding and importing its good quality is a big challenge since Chinese truffles have been introduced in the market and one finds it difficult to distinguish those from the original Italian or French truffles.
To keep truffles fresh, wrap them in a paper towel, place them in an airtight container and refrigerate. This will maintain freshness for two to three days. Don’t clean truffles until you’re ready to use them. Use a mushroom brush to remove the soil, rinse with warm water and dry thoroughly with paper towels. Don’t cut them until you’re ready to use them. They lose aroma rapidly.
If you have fresh truffles that you cannot use immediately, they can be frozen for up to six months. Vacuum-bag them if you can or use an airtight container to conserve the aroma. Store the container on the lower shelf or door of the refrigerator, where it is less cold. When truffles become soft, they must be consumed immediately.
Black truffles release more aroma when cooked, so are generally added to sauces and risottos, stuffed into roulades and Foie gras terrines, cooked with egg, lamb, sweetbread, seafood, poultry.
There are many types of truffles used for culinary purposes. The main truffle types are:
Black or périgord truffle named after the Périgord region of France.
The burgundy or summer truffle from Central Europe, Turkey and North Africa.
The bianchetto (little white) truffle, from Tuscany.
The alba white truffle, from the Piedmont region of Italy.
The Chinese truffle from Asia.
Most people are aware of truffles and their qualities due to extensive global travelling. Guest prefer to have truffles with very mild and mellow flavour accompaniments, something which is not overpowering.
Although truffles are very expensive, there are more reasons to eat them apart from the fact that they are considered a delicacy. One of these reasons are their health benefits. Technically, truffles are mushrooms that don’t have stems and are usually found under the ground. So far, truffles are used only as a main ingredient to various dishes or as flavouring and garnish to different specialties. It is a good source of high protein, it is also a moderate source of carbohydrates, it is low in fat and it is cholesterol free.
Fresh truffles are approximately 10 times more expensive then the canned ones and fits well into the pocket of most of the people who can’t afford fresh ones. Chinese truffles are 80 per cent cheaper than the original French and Italian truffles. Before buying one should always check for the origin of harvested country.
The writer is the executive sous chef, The Imperial