# Freezing fresh truffles



## entropy (Nov 11, 2006)

Just wondered what pro chefs thought of this. 

A friend of mine is a purveyor who sells truffles. He sold one to a super high-end restaurant in NYC. Their prix fixe menu is roughly $400 per person. (don't know if this includes wine, it might not, scarily enough...) Anyway, he sold them a good-sized truffle one week. 2 weeks later, he returns to see if they need more truffles, and they say no, we still have the other we bought from you in the freezer. Knowing this, I would never eat there, paying obscene money for frozen truffles, goodness knows what else they do. Maybe I'm being impractical, but whatever happened to integrity? Kinda like serving hedgehogs instead of chanterelles, which are far more expensive and taste totally different....


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## tcapper (Aug 29, 2006)

I cant help you specifically but found an interesting article related to truffles on chefsworld.net

*Truffle shortage means an expensive start to season*
message posted 11-Oct-06 20:08:16
Whats the difference between a kilo of turkey twizzlers and the same weight of Tuber magnatum? About £50,000 !

The first Piedmont whites will go on auction tomorrow night, five have been flown in from Italy for the auction, the largest weight being 350 gr.
Devotees of the Italian white dismiss the more common French Perigord region, Tuber melanosporum, as a much inferior fungus.

Bidders tomorow night will do well to remember the great truffle disaster of 2005, Andy Needham, the head chef of the Michelin starred Zafferano restaurant paid £28,000 for an 850 gr monster at last years auction, showed it off to the media, locked it in his fridge , and disappeared with the keys on holiday. Truffles dont last two weeks! 
tcappermessage posted 15-Oct-06 19:22:25
Mystery bid wins nuggets of white gold

A truffle lover paid £11,000 for five at an auction last night - well shy of the £50,000 expected

ON THE day that the Government announced fruit vouchers for children to stave off obesity a 1kg bag of top Italian truffles went up for auction in London. But how much would high society pay for them? A little less than expected it was revealed last night, as a mystery bidder paid just £11,000 for five of the delicacies.


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## chrose (Nov 20, 2000)

Flash frozen truffles are quite common. Obviously they don't go for the same price as a fresh one, but many times the fresh ones that you get are on the older side and one that is flash frozen at the peak of freshness may well be better.
I wouldn't judge them too harshly based on this. Truffles are expensive...period! You will pay a lot for fresh and frozen, depending on how they are used you might never even know the difference. If you can afford $400 for dinner I wouldn't quibble over the truffles. 

(Bear in mind I am referrring to black truffles, I canot speak to the white ones as far as the topic goes)


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## piracer (Jun 22, 2006)

my dad gave me 2 white truffles in some liquid, im guessing brine or something, that cant be right can it? 

i have to say, when i tasted the liquid, it was very fient with a truffle flavour, and the truffles themselves werent very flavourful


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## blueicus (Mar 16, 2005)

I tried the truffles piracer mentioned too (the ones in the jar, right?) and I got the same impression.

I got my hands on a couple of flash frozen black truffles today and I was wondering what it's like in comparison (I paid 40 dollars for about 60 grams). I'll report back.


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