6 Ways To Eat Truffles in Sydney This Winter
As the cold weather blues bite, we give you six places to indulge in truffles.
Fresh winter truffles — with their smoky perfume and deep complexity — contribute a umami-rich flavour to any dish. These divine morsels — shaved onto savoury dishes or shattered into butter —quickly elevate ordinary flavours to lofty new heights.
Detectable by their earthy and musky aroma, truffles make versatile companions to seafood, dumplings, noodles, red meat, eggs, salty cheese and risotto.
Take a little tour of these 6 Sydney establishments to discover how to enjoy truffles this season.
The Charles Truffle Dinner
On the 30th of July The Charles is hosting a special truffle dinner. Quay restaurant-alumni and friends Rhiann Mead (pictured top), The Charles’ head of pastry, and Kanny Kim, head chef of The Truffle Farm are reuniting for a one-night only truffle dinner. The two women, who forged a friendship in the kitchen of Quay, will be joined by The Charles’ executive chef Billy Hannigan and truffle farmer Jayson Mesman. The Charles Brasserie, 66 King Street, Sydney. If you have a sweet tooth be sure to stop in a try the Russian Honey Cake pictured above on their sweets trolley. The Charles
Riz due Lait with fresh truffles at Bar Copains
Stepping out for a bite? Hop over to Bar Copains in Surry Hills to sample the Riz du Lait with shaved truffles. For the next two weeks Nathan Sassy (ex-Mercado) and Morgan Maglone (Belle’s Hot Chicken) will feature a risotto with fresh black truffles on top. Truffles make a great addition to the seasonal menu at this hip neighbourhood bar. Bar Copains, 67 Albion Street, Surry Hills. Bar Copains
Truffle Extras at The Dry Dock
Sip a delicious cocktail by an open fire before progressing to the dining room to eat truffles. Here you will find chef Ben Sitton’s beautiful modern European menu features truffles in multiple ways. Enjoy Rigatoni with beef shin ragu, black pepper, horseradish and Parmigiano with shaved Oberon Red Ground black truffles on top, or add 5 grams of shaved truffles to either the crumbed pork cutlet with Beurre Noisette, or to the Brooklyn Valley rib eye on the bone with tarragon butter. The Dry Dock, 22 Cameron treet, Balmain. The Dry Dock.
Mr Wong
Loving the stops on our truffle train? Pop in to Mr Wong to try Dan Hong’s fried Wagyu beef and truffle puff which is always on the menu or, be lucky enough to sample the winter special of black truffle egg noodle Lo Mein, fried egg, konbu dressing and brown butter (pictured above).
Mr. Wong also offers steamed toothfish and king prawn dumpling; crispy flower dumpling of garlic butter pippies and a black truffle Xiao Long bao with fresh black truffle. Yum. Mr Wong, 3 Bridge Ln, Sydney. Mr Wong
Ms G’s
Potts Pointers can tuck into black truffle mushroom udon (pictured above) at this unassuming Asian restaurant on Victoria Street. This winter it’s served with assorted mushrooms, 5-spice tofu, shio kombu, egg yolk and shaved W.A. black truffles. Mrs G’s.
Little Felix
Inventive mixologists at Merivale’s charming CBD bar Little Felix are using a quality back truffle from Western Australia to make a winter martini. The ‘Big Truffle in Little Felix’ cocktail combines olive leaf gin, infused with Manjimup black truffles, mixed with dry vermouth. The garnish? A green olive stuffed with truffle brie. This is so indulgent and unexpected – don’t miss it. Little Felix, 2a Ash St, Sydney. Little Felix
Frequently Asked Questions
Which season is best for truffles?
Truffles are in season from the early winter months until the very end of winter. The best time for truffles in Australia is May – September and in Europe September to December.
What’s so good about truffles?
Truffles are full of umami. Umami is that delicious savoury character, regarded as one of the 5 tastes – beyond salty, sweet, sour and bitter. Umami adds richness, depth and character to other flavours and act as a taste enhancer like MSG. Chemically umami flavour is naturally found in meats, cheeses, tomatoes, mushrooms and fermented foods such as miso. MSG is a food additive that mimics its impact .
What will I eat my truffles with in restaurants?
Truffles pair well with shellfish and seafood. The are terrific fresh, when shaved over a lovely beef carpaccio, and make excellent companions to creamy polenta, pasta and risotto. In hot entrées and appetisers you will find them often as a starring partner to cheese and potatoes.
How can I use truffles at home?
Use truffles sparingly in a toasted cheese sandwich, sprinkle on homemade fries, or slice finely onto homemade white pizza (without a tomato base). For example a white pizza of rosemary, olive oil, cooked potato and Spanish onion will go well with truffle oil or shave truffles. When cooking dinner parties you can add small quantities of truffles to stocks and sauces for beef dishes. At breakfast – try hot sauce infused with truffle – great on fried eggs or shave black truffles over omelettes or fried eggs.
What is the difference between white and black truffles?
Intensity separates the white and black truffle. White truffle is universally considered the most highly-prized truffle. White truffle has an intense taste and smell, so that only few grams are needed to season a dish. White truffle shows intense aromatics with an enveloping scent of mushroom or Parmesan cheese.
Fine black truffle is more subtle in flavour and can be used in higher quantities. The fine black truffle or Tuber Melanosporum Vittadini, is also known as the truffle of Norcia, Spoleto or truffle de Périgord and it has a scent that’s intense in profile, but one that’s more aromatic and fruity.
The black truffle has high culinary qualities derived from its organoleptic characteristics. With heat, its aroma and flavours are not diminished, making it much more suitable for cooking. Black truffle pairs well with Mediterranean foods such as olive oil, polenta and pasta. It is widely used in hot appetisers, meat and egg-based main courses, but it is also excellent when eaten raw.
How much truffle should I buy?
With white truffle you will only need 5-10 grams per person, with black truffles you will need to order an absolute minimum of 10-15 g of black truffle per person.
What are the best regions for truffles grown in Australia?
Black truffles are native to Western Europe and are now cultivated as a horticultural crop in North and South America, New Zealand and Australia, as well as Europe.
Canberra in the ACT, Oberon in NSW, Yarra Valley in Victoria, Lower Barrington in Tasmania and Manjimup in W.A all have truffle orchards.
The Western Australian truffle industry is based on the French black truffle or Périgord truffle (Tuber melanosporum) grown in association with hazelnut trees (Corylus avellana) and oak trees (mainly Quercus robur and Q. ilex). Manjimup is at the epicentre of truffle production in Western Australia because Manjimup’s climate is very similar to that of Périgord in France. Harvesting commences in the region in late May and continues until early September.
What are truffles?
Black truffles are tubers and are best understood as a subterranean mushroom. Truffles grow underground, in perfect symbiosis with the tree. They are the fruiting body of the fungus. The truffle contains the spores of the fungus and when the spores are ripe the truffle develops its characteristic aroma. Truffles are initiated in summer and early autumn and continue to grow before maturing in the cold winter months.
The fungus supplies the tree with nutrients from the soil and may make water more available to the tree, while the tree provides the fungus with a place to live and supplies carbohydrates (sugars) for growth. Black truffles can be located up to 30cm below ground and are found by using trained dogs who recognise their pungent scent.
Why are truffles so expensive?
Truffles are a very high value crop and production demands significant capital expenditure for the farmer. Harvesting truffle with the use of sniffer dogs is labour intensive and the orchards require irrigation in summer and autumn to bring about the right conditions for growth. Many truffle orchards around the world have failed to produce as expected. It can take 7 years for trees for a truffle orchard to reach maturity before it can produce the growth of truffles requiring serious investment from farmers.
It is the nature of truffles that prices fluctuate on the open market depending on availability and season. This means that average truffle prices vary greatly, according to factors of size, availability and of course, origin. Fine white truffle (Tuber Magnatum Pico) – ranges from from $3,475 per kg to $5,000 per kg. Finest black truffle (Tuber Melanosporum Vitt) – from $580 per kg to $910 per kg.
When buying truffles for home delivery online, be very careful to check, because prices are almost always expressed in dollars per hectogram. One hectogram is equal to metric 100 grams.
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