Why truffles are expensive

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News » Lifestyle » Food News » Why are real truffles so expensive and what makes them the costliest food on the planet? Right up there with caviar, truffles are one of the most expensive foods on the planet no, we're not talking about the ones of the chocolate variety. This begs the question: Why? Although they're often described as mushrooms, it's actually not that simple. Stephen Parker, the Executive Chef at Lot15 in New York City, says that a truffle is a type of fungus that can generally be considered a type of mushroom "under a definition that considers any spore-bearing fruiting body of a fungi a mushroom.

Truffles can only grow under very specific conditions, which is a key factor in the high price. Parker explains that they typically grow deep underground, around the roots of certain trees such as the oak, hazel, poplar, beech, and pine trees. And in return, the truffles give the trees minerals and nutrients from the soil," he says.

Because truffles need the perfect conditions to grow, you can't correctly mimic their growth in a greenhouse or in a laboratory, Parker says. Truffles don't last longer than 7 to 10 days. Truffles can be cooked, but are usually cleaned by hand and grated or sliced paper-thin atop warm food, which absorbs the truffle's aroma. Other cooks put truffles in closed containers with food to impart a truffle flavor.

You don't need much since a little goes a long way. It can be difficult to find truffle oil that includes real truffles. It's out there, but most of it is cooking oil scented with chemicals found in truffles but not truffles themselves. You shouldn't cook with truffle oil since heat tends to alter it, advises RecipeGeek. It's considered a finishing oil, best when sprinkled sparingly over prepared food like eggs, cooked vegetables, pasta or potatoes.

Even french fries are subjected to the treatment. Truffle oil has its passionate defenders and detractors. Bassi and Sparvoli say they pick up a new batch of truffles from John F Kennedy International Airport every other day, all year round. The world of selling is tough because of the competition," Bassi says.

And it's not the money-maker you might imagine at these prices, according to Sparvoli: "You would be surprised by how low the margins are for us because they are expensive for everybody" though she declines to disclose what those margins are. The good news, Sparvoli says, is that the rainy spring in Europe bodes well for this year's black and white winter truffle season. The problem is if we can find the clients to buy them. Like this story?