What: High class fungi

.................................................Risotto with truffles.
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They are expensive, much sought-after and can be found in fine-dining restaurants. JAMES HIPKISS tells us about truffles.
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Weighing and slicing or shaving truffles, carefully.
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Atlantic lobster with truffles, deliciously decadent.

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LIKE gold, truffles are found beneath the earth, and usually in the form of nugget shaped pieces, and their value by weight is not too dissimilar to that of gold, well RM18 per gram in a 5-star hotel restaurant at least!
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However, the one big difference is that the black truffle, unlike gold is edible... And the flavour, ah, how does one begin to explain it?
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First though a little background on the black truffle, and there are grey and white truffles, just to confuse things.
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White truffles are even rarer and more expensive. The black and grey are more common and inferior in taste, the poor relation then. Black truffles are also often known as Perigord truffles as they were mainly found in the Perigord region of France, though they grow in parts of Spain and Italy too.
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The truffle is actually a fungi and the black truffle is only found around the roots of oak and hazel trees, and usually up to 30cm below the surface. Truffles generally grow wild, and are not easily cultivated. Growing wild and underground then, the trick has always been how to actually find them.
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Traditionally, female pigs used to sniff them out as they love the smell and taste of truffles. Apparently they have a similar scent to the male boar!
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But alas given the chance they will wolf them down as soon as they unearth them, now trained dogs, with less of a voracious appetite are taking their place. The harvesting is normally done in late autumn and winter, and they appear in regional truffle markets around January onwards. In appearance the truffle in somewhat underwhelming, black in colour (obviously), knobbly and growing to a size of around 8cm in diameter. The attraction, for truffle lovers, is in its heavenly aroma and taste.
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Actually the taste and aroma of the black truffle are almost impossible to accurately describe. Mushroom is the nearest thing but a fresh black truffle has a far more pungent aroma, a rich earthy scent. As for the flavour, some people actually are unable to smell them at all, however, whilst others may not find the aroma to their liking. The flavour though not strong or powerful as such is quite distinctive, and you will either immediately enjoy it or find it an anticlimax, perhaps a little like when you first tasted caviar.
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Much mystique is attached to the black truffle or Tuber melanosporum to give it its biological name. How long does it keep, how should it be stored, how to prepare it and serve it?
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Many gourmets insist that it should only be eaten fresh, that is less than a month old, the older it gets the less intense its aroma and flavour becomes. It should be stored in a cool slightly damp and airtight place according to some chefs. Others suggest storing the truffle in a jar of Arborio rice, where it will impart its flavour to the rice too, which can later be cooked.
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Some Italian and French gourmet food producers preserve truffles in tins or jars, usually in slightly briny water, though purists would say that some of the flavour and much of the aroma is then lost at the expense of preserving the truffle for months rather than weeks.
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Before cooking or serving as a garnish, the truffle is almost always shaved into very thin slices. It is usually prepared in recipes with subtle-flavoured ingredients, allowing the truffles distinctive flavour to emerge. A risotto, or pasta is popular with shaved truffles in Italy. The French enjoy their truffles in anything from a fine Pate de Fois Gras, to a simple omelette or even in mashed potatoes.
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You can sample two delicious dishes with black truffles at the Pacifica Grill, Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Kuala Lumpur. There is the delightful Risotto Parmegiano di Regiano, which is creamy and aromatic and the Boston Lobster with a mushroom froth sauce and shaved truffles.
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The subtle taste of the lobster in this delicious dish is perfectly balanced with the mushroom and the truffle compliments it.
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Give them a try? Look for them in dishes in gourmet restaurants or fine delicatessen shops, if you wish to cook with them at home. -NST Online