Truffle - an acquired taste?

[abbby]

I gag at times when I eat food marinated in Truffle, notable truffle oil..I guess its an acquired taste but i still can't don't like the taste of it much, especially the truffle oil... what about you?

Oh, by the way do expats eat durians?

[sundaymorningstaple]

Some do, but most are those who have spent considerable time in SE Asia. I've been here over 40 years now and while I've tried a lot of the variations (ultra-smelly but in theory the best tasting, and the lower aromatic kind but also lacking the flavour - I don't mind the smell of them but I just cannot do the taste. Hasn't been for wont of trying, (ironically the fruit that is usually sold along side of durians I don't care for either - Mangosteen).

[smoulder]

I took to durians within 2 years of moving here. I now have to coax my wife to buy it for me.... Still afraid of the foreigner tag and getting a lousy deal....

[abbby]

@sundaymorningstaple There's just something about truffles, especially the truffle oil any dish that comes with it just makes me want to vomit..hard to describe the taste..just very off putting.

@smoulder I love durians, but it's quite heaty and it really has to pair with mangosteen, neutralizes any heatiness. Too bad, they're so pricey in Singapore (durians), even in NTUC, $48 a box of 5 pieces? Madness..

[sundaymorningstaple]

@sundaymorningstaple There's just something about truffles, especially the truffle oil any dish that comes with it just makes me want to vomit..hard to describe the taste..just very off putting.

@smoulder I love durians, but it's quite heaty and it really has to pair with mangosteen, neutralizes any heatiness. Too bad, they're so pricey in Singapore (durians), even in NTUC, $48 a box of 5 pieces? Madness..

That's what I get for not quoting. I was actually referring to your comment on durians. My Bad.

Truffles and truffle oil.....neither leave an impression on me, but then I'm a old farmer and hunter so am used to eating gamey tasting cuisine. I don't really have a 'delicate' palate, to be honest. Fine dining restaurants don't like me too much. And I don't like them all that much either.

[JWNYsg]

I like my French fries without it

[malcontent]

Truffle tastes like what I would imagine to be the ‘juice’ extracted from old musty socks after years of foot fungus and sweat buildup. Yum!

[roshi ensei]

You'd be surprised about how close you are to the facts!

So truffle oil will usually contain an aromatic component called 2,4-dithiapentane. To quote from Wikipedia:

2,4-Dithiapentane is the dimethyldithioacetal of formaldehyde. It is prepared by the acid-catalyzed condensation of methyl mercaptan, the main aromatic compound in both halitosis and foot odor and a secondary compound in flatulence,[1] with formaldehyde.

2,4-dithiapentane is the dominant element in natural truffle mushroom and so therefore is used to produce synthetic truffle product, such as truffle oil.

Truffle tastes like what I would imagine to be the ‘juice’ extracted from old musty socks after years of foot fungus and sweat buildup. Yum!

[malcontent]

You'd be surprised about how close you are to the facts!

So truffle oil will usually contain an aromatic component called 2,4-dithiapentane. To quote from Wikipedia:

2,4-Dithiapentane is the dimethyldithioacetal of formaldehyde. It is prepared by the acid-catalyzed condensation of methyl mercaptan, the main aromatic compound in both halitosis and foot odor and a secondary compound in flatulence,[1] with formaldehyde.

2,4-dithiapentane is the dominant element in natural truffle mushroom and so therefore is used to produce synthetic truffle product, such as truffle oil.

Truffle tastes like what I would imagine to be the ‘juice’ extracted from old musty socks after years of foot fungus and sweat buildup. Yum!

There’s nothing quite like the aroma of flatulence and foot odor… it takes a refined palate to appreciate them, especially in combination with one another

[Pal]

Truffle is acceptable to me in dry food such as fries but when in combination of oil like in pasta or soup is overwhelming for me.

[tiktok]

Truffle is thought of as rare and prestigious, that's the main reason it's popular on menus here. Not because it tastes good.

[tiktok]

It's usually fake too:
https://www.tasteatlas.com/truffle-indu ... a-big-scam

[roshi ensei]

I'm afraid I have to disagree here. The reason truffle is expensive is precisely because it is rare and hard to cultivate. The real truffle I would argue tastes very different from the synthetic ones.

The real ones are milder in taste and smell and for me at least, they do taste great and complement certain dishes really well. One thing that might help change your mindset, as it did mine, is to think of truffle as the equivalent of herbs instead of mushroom. You add it to your food not for the texture, but for the extra smell and taste and ultimately an extra dimension to your dish.

Now on to whether it's prestigious, for me I think it's a great experience to taste once or twice (or thrice!) in your life. But I never found find myself craving for it. If it happens to be served in the restaurant I'm eating at, the mood happens to be perfect and probably doesn't hurt if there's an occasion to celebrate, then yeah sure. Otherwise, a regular pasta dish cooked very well on its own would suffice most of the time.

Truffle is thought of as rare and prestigious, that's the main reason it's popular on menus here. Not because it tastes good.

[YYCole]

And even if you are seeing the physical truffle, the different location of cultivation is vast different in price and quality

https://www.nytimes.com/1995/02/15/gard ... y%20flavor.

[abbby]

I don't understand why truffle taste so good in some food but awful in others...I hate truffle oil but I enjoy truffle fries..