The black truffle, also known as the Italian truffles, is an excellent choice for a delicious and easy to make appetizer, salad, or snack. Black truffles are the fruiting body of ascomycete fungi, mainly one of the numerous species of the genus Tubestris. Also known as Tuberculinum, many other fungi are also classified as black truffles, including Geopora, Pezira, Lactarius, and a hundred more. In fact, some of them may not even be fungi at all, as they grow on trees and vines in tropical environments.
Many varieties of truffles exist, with the most common being the more common white truffles, which are a little less expensive and widely available. While the black variety of truffles can be found in many places in the world, its flavor is more intense, owing to the presence of greater amounts of sulfur compounds.
Traditionally, the truffles are spread on the table with a knife, but nowadays even a fork works fine. A teaspoonful of it, ground in a mortar, is spread on top of a slice of ham and served with some crusty bread. If served cold, they can be placed in ice cube trays, and the cubes themselves served cold, but if served hot, you should add some salt to the dish with your truffle salt.
Some people add a pinch of Rosemary, thyme, sage, or even rosewater to their black truffle sea salt. As another option, you can also mix a teaspoon of cinnamon, cloves, or ginger, together with some sugar, and then sprinkle it over your salad or meat dish. If you do that, you might also want to add a small amount of lemon juice to this mixture, as lemon juice can help counteract the strong flavor of the vinegar.
Some other foods, such as cheese, olives, or even wine, are used to give the dish a unique black truffle salt effect. You could also put some candied peel over it or even use it as an ingredient for a truffle sandwich, which can be cut up and served cold.
As for how to prepare the black truffle, you can either cook it or bake it. If cooking, you can add your truffle salt right at the beginning of cooking, before baking, so that the ingredients can soak into the meat, instead of marinating.
Baking truffles can also work well for you, as long as you know how to do it properly. To bake a truffle, start by removing the skins from the fruit (don't peel any of these), and then wrap each piece in Saran wrap, or place it into an airtight container to keep it warm while you bake.
If baking, use a tray instead of a pan and use a cookie sheet so that it will be exposed to the elements. You can bake your black truffles in different ways. For example, you can bake them in a pan and then let them cool on a wire rack, or even place them in a freezer to freeze until needed. If freezing, wrap them in foil and place them in a ziplock bag. They will be ready to use whenever you need them.
When you want to serve your truffle salt, you can either use it as a garnish on top of the salad, or you can use it just like regular salt, but this time, add some pepper and other herbs to taste. This way, your black truffle can have a that great fresh, smoky, or sweet flavor, without having to resort to too much heat.
The truth is, black truffles have a lot to offer. There are many ways to prepare them, but there is no doubt that these little morsels of heaven are a healthy choice to have on your dinner table.
These days, people all over the world are learning about how to prepare their black truffles, and they're enjoying all the great tastes this truffle salt has to offer. If you haven't tried this tasty treat, now would be a good time to give it a try. You'll be surprised at how much more you'll enjoy it.
