The Sunday Times | Sunday, December 6, 2015
C28 |
Life Food & Drink
Truffle fries, truffle noodles, truffle ice cream, but...
... Where is the truffle?
Truffle-flavoured
dishes here mostly
use truffle oil, which
is unlikely to have
traces of the
prized fungi
Kenneth Goh
Truffle, the prized fungus, has
become an ubiquitous flavour in
restaurants and cafes here.
But most places do not use the real
thing. Instead, they are sprinkling
food with truffle oil to glam up dishes
from French fries to burgers. Called
the ketchup of the bourgeoisie by
detractors, truffle oil simulates the
aroma of the prized fungi.
Over the past three years, the
range of truffle-flavoured dishes
has continued to grow, with hawker
stalls and an ice cream cafe adding
truffle oil to their food.
Even fast-food chain McDonalds
has joined the fray. Last month, it
launched the Truffle Flavoured
Shaker Fries at more than 130
outlets here. The fries, which cost
$3.25 a serving like a large serving
of normal fries, comes with a sachet
of truffle-flavoured powder.
Diners here are the first in
South-east Asia to get the truffle-
flavoured fries, which is available
until Dec 30. A McDonalds
Singapore spokesman says: Truffle
fries have become increasingly
popular in Singapore and since it is
available only at selected restau-
rants, we want to make this flavour
accessible to more diners.
The chains truffle-flavoured
seasoning contains ingredients
such as whey, onion powder and
dextrose powder and is unlikely to
contain traces of real truffles.
The same can be said for most
truffle oils, which are not made with
real truffles. Instead, they are
concocted by blending olive or sun-
flower oil with truffle flavouring,
which is made from the chemical
compound 2,4-Dithiapentane.
Like McDonalds, food business
owners are drawn by the growing
popularity of truffle dishes and
charge up to two times more for an
additional dash of truffle oil.
One of them is Ms Jo Ann Ng, 32,
owner of Bee Kee Wanton Noodles,
which has stalls in Lorong Lew Lian
and Market Street Food Centre.
She introduced truffle versions of
wonton and braised pork soft bone in
July last year. She says: Most truffle
dishes start at $15 in cafes. By adding
it in local dishes, more people can try
how truffle tastes like. It is a cheaper
alternative.
For each serving of noodles, she
adds one teaspoon of white truffle
oil from Urbani Tartufi into a soya
sauce-based dressing before tossing
it with the noodles. The truffle oil is
made of sunflower seed oil infused
with white truffle flavour.
While a bowl of wonton noodles
starts at $3, the truffle version starts
at $6. The pricier bowl also contains
extra fried and steamed dumplings
as well as meat.
She charges a premium for using
quality truffle oil imported from
Italy and sells up to 70 bowls of
truffle-scented noodles every day,
Truffles are expensive and you will be kidding
yourself to expect that the real ingredient is
used in dishes outside of restaurants.
DINER QUAH CHUM YONG
adding that half her customers are
aware that truffle oil is not made
with real truffles.
Customers cannot expect a bowl
of noodles with truffle shavings to
cost $6. It would have to cost $60.
A check with some Italian restau-
rants reveals that prices for white
truffle from Alba, Italy, can range
from $12 a gram at Buona Terra in
Scotts Road to $18 to $20 a gram at
Forlino in One Fullerton.
Another hawker stall using truffle
oil is Grazie, which serves Western
food in Serangoon Gardens Food
Centre. It offers truffle fries ($5.50),
which is topped with parmesan
cheese shavings and parsley. A serv-
ing of regular French fries costs $4.
Owner Clarence Tan, 25, uses
sunflower oil with white truffle
essence. He says: Truffle oil is Liang Tong, 26, who loves truffle-
seven to eight times more expensive
than vegetable oil, which is used to
cook regular fries.
Ice cream cafe Dessert Project in
Havelock Road has white truffle ice
cream in its premium selection, at
$4.50 a scoop. Other flavours include
melon and Parma ham, and Thai milk
tea. Flavours in its classic range,
including vanilla and coconut, cost
$3.80 a scoop.
Co-owner Gary Soh, 29, adds
truffle-flavoured olive oil into the
milk-based ice cream.
Despite being less complex than
other premium flavours, truffle oil is
more expensive than other ingre-
dients, he says. We dont have to
use a lot of truffle oil to make each
batch of ice cream as its aroma is
quite strong.
Most diners The Sunday Times
Bee Kee Wanton
Noodles owner
Jo Ann Ng
(above) with her
truffle wonton
noodles; and
McDonalds
Truffle Flavoured
Shaker Fries
(left). PHOTOS:
STEPHANIE YEOW,
DIOS VINCOY JR FOR
THE SUNDAY TIMES
speaks to are not aware that truffle
oil and seasoning are not made with
real truffles. Some feel deceived as
they have paid more for truffle-
flavoured dishes.
One of them is housewife Hazel
Tan, 27, who was disappointed by
McDonalds truffle-flavoured fries.
She says: I will consider more
carefully before going for truffle
dishes next time.
But some are willing to pay a
premium for the truffle flavour.
Communications executive Lau
essences. For example, the
scented potato chips, bread and eggs,
pays two to three times more for the
unique, comfortable scent and
taste. She says: Truffle flavour goes
well with the food I like. Using truffle
oil is like using vanilla essence in-
stead of vanilla bean in cupcakes.
Agreeing with her is Mr Quah
Chum Yong, 43, an executive direc-
tor in a finance company.
He has had the truffle wonton noo-
dles at Bee Kee Wanton Noodle stall
five times and is willing to pay up to
50 per cent more for truffle flavour-
ing to get a unique dining experi-
ence.
He says: Truffles are expensive
and you will be kidding yourself to
expect that the real ingredient is used
indishes outside of restaurants.
kengohsz@sph.com.sg
CHEMICALS MIMIC REAL THING
Contrary to popular belief,
truffle oil is not made from real
truffle steeped in oil.
A check of black and white
truffle oils sold in supermarkets
here shows that none of these
products contains even traces of
the expensive fungi. Instead,
they are extra virgin olive oil or
olive oil blended with truffle
flavouring.
These made-in-Italy oils range
from $20.70 for a 100ml bottle
of Conte di Bellomonte Black
Truffle-flavoured Extra Virgin
Olive Oil to $59.90 for a 250ml
bottle of Savitar Di San Miniato
White Truffle Oil.
Temasek Polytechnics
diploma in baking and culinary
science course manager Petrina
Lim says truffle oil is likely to be
artificially flavoured with a
synthetic compound known as
2,4-Dithiapentane.
She adds that the aromas from
various species of real truffles are
a result of more than 200 types of
aroma of black truffle comes
from at least 17 aroma molecules.
Scientists can extract and
evaluate these aromatic
compounds from truffles and
determine which chemical
compound would best mimic the
flavours of real truffles, she says.
These oil-soluble compounds
infuse well into vegetable oils or
can undergo spray drying and
extrusion processes to produce
flavoured powder particles.
Swiss fragrance and flavours
manufacturer Givaudans
Singapore office says it has seen
an increase in demand for
premium Western flavours
including truffle from the
food industry over the last
two years.
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