Truffle Sizes & Costs
- A 20 gram truffle is about the size of a squash ball
- A 50 gram truffle is about the size of a large hen egg
- A 100 gram truffle is about the size of a tennis ball
- A 200 gram truffle is about the size of an emu egg
- A minimum serving for an entrée plate would be 3gm (@$3/gm = $9/serve)
- A minimum serving for a main plate would be 5gm (@$3/gm = $15/serve)
Serving Truffles
- Australia’s fresh truffle season is late May to end August
- Australia has yet to develop a ‘Truffle Culture’ so new customers are best entertained by the full experience of seeing fresh truffle and smelling fresh truffle on the plate, as subtleties of more complex flavours could be lost. That will come later!
- If handled at the table, a nice option could include wearing white cotton gloves and serving, as the customers wishes regarding quantity, be weighing the truffle (before and after shaving)
- Truffles go with anything as they are a flavour enhancer (containing glutamic acid) and have the ‘umami’, or savoury taste
- Truffles go best with simple dishes involving eggs, mushrooms, chicken, pasta, potatoes, risotto, Jerusalem artichokes, celeriac
- Truffles have a great affinity for fats, any fats, which retain the aroma
- Truffles should be shaved as thinly as possible as the greater the surface area exposed, the greater the aroma from the truffle serving
- Truffle shavers are a must to show the texture and marbling of slices but microplanes can be useful for some dishes. A fine julienne can be an option as is grating.
- The thinner the slice, the finer the flavour! With fresh truffles, surface is everything! The more surface you expose the more the aroma can be released.
Source: Australian Truffle Growers Association
Truffle Shaver
Shaved Truffle on Beef
Truffles and Pasta
Remember…
Truffles are seasonal and fresh is best!
