Giusi > wrote:

>I can't give you a brand name and I suspect that oils with a brand name are
>the product of big factories and might be the bad kind. Look at the label.
>It should say truffles and probably even what type. (estive, etc.) The ones
>that say flavors or whatever are using artificial truffle flavor.
>
>We have a small company here that makes truffle oil. I don't know where it
>goes, but they don't make enough for it to hit the shelves of our big
>supermarket. That's the story on truffle oil... you have to find a shop or
>a person who connects you to a small manufacturer.

If even high-end chefs in the U.S. are unable to reliably obtain
genuine truffle oil, then for all intents and purposes it does not
exist in the U.S.

This is the sort of thing the poses real problems for importers, since
even if they taste an authentic truffle oil in Italy, it is difficult
to ensure that what subsequently gets shipped to them is the same
quality. Labeling laws do not require disclosure of added chemicals.

And yes, the local importers of Italian products have very good connections
in Italy, so it's not as if they are operating blindly. It's just a
difficult proposition to search for an almost-nonexistent product when
there are lots of fakes and no laws preventing the fakes from being
sold as the real thing.

I find it telling that A.G. Ferrari only sells an "oil with white truffle
slice", and doesn't sell a "truffle oil". This can only mean they
concluded the latter product can't be procured in a reasonable quality
level.

Finally, I can't think of a situation where a truffle oil is actually
preferred to physical truffles.


Steve


Steve