SC - Re: Truffles, etc.

[Philip & Susan Troy]

marilyn traber wrote:
> 
> I seem to remember on the discovery channel seing something about it a
> few years ago. I suppose as there are always people who hate buying
> anything foreign, they would go for it.
> margali

I believe it is more a case of the increasing difficulty of finding good
European truffles, and the fact that they aren't as big or as flavorful
as they used to be. My mother-in-law bemoans the similar decline of the
Chinese black mushroom (and no, shiitakes are NOT an acceptable
substitute, having neither the flavor, the color, nor the texture of the
real thing, only the shape). I read somewhere that there were something
like four deaths in Perigord last year due to separate incidents of
gunfights among truffle hunters.

BTW: $100 per pound would be an excellent price for Oregon truffles,
compared to even the relatively inexpensive Umbrian black truffle. I
bought one (1) Umbrian black truffle a couple of years ago, in season
(like late November), weighing just under two ounces, IIRC, and it was
something like $70. Boy, did I stretch that sucker. Served it grated
onto fresh homemade fettucine with Kosher salt, fresh pepper and some
thick green olive oil. I think about eight or ten people ate that
truffle...

The only variable (and it's a biggie) is the question of quality. I've
never tasted an Oregon truffle, so I couldn't say how they stack up to
European ones in flavor and aroma. And, while there are people who will
kneejerk prefer to buy anything American over anything European,
conversely, there are people who automatically assume anything European
is automatically superior to anything American, which is patently
hogwash. People seem to forget that unlike American television, it is
usually only the best European produce that gets exported to the US.
Over there there is as much dubious wine in plastic bags and boxes as
there is here (well, paper milk cartons, actually). English Cheddar
cheese, while far better than the funny yellow plastic we buy in the
supermarket, just isn't as good as some of the Cheddars (albeit
geographically inauthentic) produced in New York State or in parts of
the Pacific Northwest. Sorry: Wisconsin still loses, IMO.

As for foie gras, I can only say that I'd much rather have the foie gras
from New York State, that I can buy fresh, whole, and raw, than anything
from Europe which generally has to be ground up and put in a can. I
can't speak for or against the quality of the pristine article in
Europe, but I'd bet it's about the same as the stuff from D'Artagnan.

Europe does, however, have better Gothic cathedrals...

Adamantius, being fair, unbiased, and objective. Really!  
______________________________________
Phil & Susan Troy
troy at asan.com
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