Truffle butter and truffle oil are two ingredients cooks can use to imbue their menus with the flavor and scent of truffles, but what's the difference, and how do you know if what you are getting is authentic?
What is Truffle Oil?
The growing popularity of food shows, and celebrity chefs has inspired home-cooks to get a little more adventurous in their dishes, and a rising favorite strategy is to cook with truffle oil.
Truffles were once an elusive ingredient only available to five-star kitchens and elite chefs, but times have changed, and people want these flavors available in their kitchens.
A wide variety of truffle oils have arrived on store shelves to fill this need. Truffle oil is essentially olive oil infused with truffle flavor. Other oils, like canola and grapeseed oil, are also used for truffle oil because they have a more neutral flavor.
Fake truffle oil uses synthetic ingredients like 2,4 dithiapentane. The molecule gives truffles their distinctive aroma, but it's a poor substitute for real truffles. Unfortunately, most truffle oils available in supermarkets are created using this method and lack the complexity of authentic truffle flavors.
There are truffle oils made with the residue of truffles that have been prepared for sale, but most will use inferior varieties from the more than 200 truffle species and not the culinary types like white Alba or black Périgord.
Always check the labeling to ensure your truffle oil is made from real, high-quality truffles. Ingredients like "truffle flavor" or "truffle aroma" indicate synthetic truffle flavoring. If you don't see the word truffles listed on its own somehow, then the oil is most likely a fake variety.
What is Truffle Butter?
Truffle butter is a dairy-based butter created from milk or cream with real truffle pieces added during the later production stages.
However, like truffle oil, not all truffle butter is created equal. Quite a few brands will use synthetic ingredients to achieve the truffle flavors and fragrances.
However, synthetic products cannot compete with the naturally complex aromas and flavors present in real truffles. The only way to do that is to use authentic truffle pieces, like the black and white truffles used in TART-UFO truffle butter.
Truffle butter is available as butter made from cow's milk, sheep's milk, or goat's milk, with the essential ingredient being the truffles.
When your goal is to enjoy authentic truffle flavor, you should avoid any butter with truffle fragrances or truffle oil listed on the ingredients. The majority of these will use synthetic products. They are usually a lot more affordable but do not provide a genuine truffle experience.
You can use truffle butter in a wide range of recipes. From pasta and pizzas to burgers and eggs on toast, add unique flavors to any of your favorite dishes you already enjoy or try something new in the kitchen.
]]>Fortunately for truffle lovers, there's no need to buy truffles by the pound. Instead, the delicious flavors of this highly prized fungus can be savored when using TART-UFO truffle butter in recipes. Whether it's to add a unique taste to your culinary creations or a touch of gourmet to fresh toast, the best truffle butter will never fail to add extra depth to your cooking.
What is TART-UFO Truffle Butter?
The butter in truffle butter is created much the same way as any high-quality butter. However, during the later stages of butter manufacture, truffle bits are added to infuse it with the highly desirable flavors and fragrances for which truffles are famous.
Truffle butter at TART-UFO is made from grass-fed organic dairy and infused with truffle pieces from black and white varieties. This method is the best way to enjoy both types of truffles' unique tastes, which complement each other perfectly when combined in the butter.
It is possible to buy lower truffle butter grades, which are infused with real truffle fragrances, but no physical pieces of truffle. Not including pieces of real truffle means you are missing out on a lot of the truffle experience.
Synthetic truffle fragrances are now used in lower-quality butter, but if you want the genuine experience, always go for the best truffle butter that includes actual pieces of truffle.
Does TART-UFO Truffle Butter Go Bad?
Even the best truffle butter will lose flavor and aroma over time. If you know you will not use your truffle butter for a while and want to save it for a special occasion, pop it into an airtight container and keep it in the freezer. Your truffle butter will stay fresh like that for up to a year.
Is TART-UFO Truffle Butter Expensive?
TART-UFO Truffle butter uses real truffle pieces, which are rare and expensive. For this reason, a tub of TART-UFO truffle butter is a little more costly than ordinary butter. However, you don't need a lot of butter to add real truffle flavor to your recipes, so one tub can go a long way. In short TART-UFO truffle butter makes the unique flavor of truffles accessible all year round and to more people who would otherwise miss out.
How to Use TART-UFO Truffle Butter
Truffle butter is incredibly versatile in the kitchen. You can use it in just about any recipe that calls for oil or fat. Of course, the balanced flavor of TART-UFO truffle butter means you need to be mindful about how much and when you add it to the dishes and to make sure that you don't cook with it but just infuse the dishes
Truffle adds extra layers of flavor to just about any meat. Try it on turkey or chicken. Infuse the meat with zesty flavors by rubbing the bird with truffle butter before taking it out of the oven. The heat of cooking will ensure that every bite is infused with truffle flavor, with a nicely browned and crispy truffle flavored skin.
Burgers are another excellent use for truffle butter. A cold slice of truffle melted over warm hamburgers will imbue the meat with truffle flavored goodness. Even potatoes are enhanced by using truffle butter added during final couple of minutes of baking or adding a slice of cold butter to mashed potatoes.
Vegetarians shouldn't miss out on enjoying the unique taste of truffles, as the flavors work great with all types of vegetables. Add the cold truffle butter to vegetables fresh out of the oven or pot, so it melts all over.
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Truffles are expensive, but you can still enjoy their exclusive taste with truffle butter. It's a quick and convenient addition to any recipe that adds mouth-watering flavor to just about every dish without too much effort.
How Truffle Butter Will Enhance Your Regular Dishes
There are many ways you can enjoy truffle butter. Here are a few of our favorite ideas on how TART-UFO truffle butter can make your dishes more memorable.
Deliciously Moist Burgers
When it's burgers for dinner, cut off a slice of chilled truffle butter and place it in the bun's center before you add a freshly grilled patty. The residual heat will melt the butter without cooking it to create a juicy center, a crispy outer, and leave all flavors intact.
Truffle Butter Enhanced Steak
As we mentioned earlier, truffle butter is a quick and simple way to add delicious flavor and juiciness to a steak. You don't cook the steak with the butter, though, as that will destroy some of the unique flavors. Instead, you top the still sizzling hot steak with the truffle butter, but only when it's on the plate. The butter will melt into the meat to bring out and enhance its moist, savory flavor.
Truffle Butter Infused Poultry
A little truffle butter inserted underneath the skin of a roasting chicken, duck, or turkey will keep the meat moist and tender while adding deep and rich flavors that will ensure nothing remains for leftovers.
Take Your Sandwiches to the Next Level
When you want something quick and filling for lunch, a sandwich is a go-to meal for busy people. Truffle butter can take your sandwiches to the next level. Get your mouth around a European style sandwich topped with bresaola (salted pork, beef, or venison) and slathered with truffle butter. Even the humble grilled cheese sandwich can benefit from a generous portion of melted truffle butter.
Movie Night with Added Truffle Butter
I bet you didn't think popcorn and truffle butter would make good companions, but this recipe [* https://www.dartagnan.com/truffle-butter-popcorn-recipe.html] will add a new element of flavor to movie night. Popcorn made with duck fat, truffle flavored oil, and a few tablespoons of black truffle butter is easy to make and will be a big hit, so be sure to make some extra.
Truffle Flavored Vegetables
Instead of using the same old dairy butter melted over your steamed veggies, try truffle butter instead. Your taste buds will thank you for the decadent but tasty change.
Add Truffle Butter to Your Picnic Basket
Picnics will never be the same when you pop in a tub of TART-UFO truffle butter to your picnic basket. You can use it to enhance all your regular picnic foods, including bread and salads. It's a rare treat, so spread it on thick, and don't worry about the calories. Everyone deserves a cheat day, especially when truffle butter is on the menu.
Don't Trust Just any Truffle Butter
When you are spicing up your menu with truffle butter, you want to make sure you're only using the best ingredients available. TART-UFO uses black and white truffles for a unique musky flavor with just a hint of garlic. Discerning tastes demand the highest quality ingredients, which is why TART-UFO butter is also created from grass-fed dairy cattle. It's an affordable way to enjoy the unique flavor of truffles and show off your prowess in the kitchen.
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