343157 Wed Nov 15 20:55:19 -0800 2006 21 1 San Francisco Bay Area 0 2024571 Any word on who has carefully sourced white truffles? Last year we got a black truffle at Far West Fungi but it had been stored with white truffles and we were fooled by the scent it picked up. The truffle was dead, and the counter guy had no idea when they had been gathered. Polarica has a minimum order of 1/4 pound, at $2285 per pound for golf ball sized truffles. That comes out to $5 a gram, so Oliveto's $7 per gram isn't so bad given the careful sourcing. The Pasta Shop? Somewhere else I'm not thinking of? We have reservations for Saturday night at Oliveto, so we'll cross our fingers that they still have truffles left. Wed Nov 15 20:55:19 -0800 2006 17221 SteveG 1 2024592 Ferry Plaza the mushroom vendor perhaps and a link to other stores http://www.italianmade.com/whitetruffles/storesSF.htm We were at Oliveto last night, read my post below. Hope you have as nice of a meal that we did. Wed Nov 15 20:59:52 -0800 2006 2024571 52212 Lori SF 1 2024613 Pasta Shop usually has some. The last couple of years I went looking for white truffles I wasn't able to find any worth buying, so I just gave up. With excellent white-truffle oil available at a much lower price it's not much of a sacrifice. Wed Nov 15 21:03:46 -0800 2006 2024571 11369 Robert Lauriston 2 2024872 What are the best brands of white truffle oil? I bought the TJ's black truuffle oil, and it tasted like olive oil, was their white much better when they had it (I'm hoping they'll bring it back next year)? I really want to mimic the truffled popcorn I had as the amuse at Supperclub; I ate like 4 boxes of it! That TJ's stuff made it taste liked olived popcorn. I live in Walnut Creek, so anythingI can just pick up in a store instead of ordering would be great. Wed Nov 15 22:06:02 -0800 2006 2024613 23588 Ozumo 3 2024909 Urbani's good but can be hard to find. I think Draeger's always has it. Not sure about Andronico's. AG Ferrari stocks some, I haven't tried it. Black and white truffles are utterly different: http://www.chowhound.com/topics/show/324687#1868766 Wed Nov 15 22:17:33 -0800 2006 2024872 11369 Robert Lauriston 4 2025267 Thanks! Any idea how much it goes for (roughly)? And when you use it, it would pretty much be a finishing oil, correct? Wed Nov 15 23:59:31 -0800 2006 2024909 23588 Ozumo 5 2025307 Drizzle is the key word. great over pasta, risotto, scallops, I like it over potatoes, pizza, asparagus, white fish. gGo slight to see how much you like. The cost? I have no idea. We buy a very small bottle at the Ferry Plaza mushroom vendor (i need to find the name)it does last for a bit. I think smaller the bottle the better so you don't loose taste trying to consume a larger bottle. Thu Nov 16 00:13:18 -0800 2006 2025267 52212 Lori SF 6 2027825 The Ferry Plaza vendor is Far West Fungi. I'm not entirely clear on their business structure, but there seems to be a Far West Fungi that farms and sells muchrooms at many farmer's markets in the area, but the store in the Ferry Plaza operates somewhat independently for purchased products and the lady in the Far West Fungi office didn't seem interested in chatting about where the store might get its truffles. Thu Nov 16 20:35:42 -0800 2006 2025307 17221 SteveG 5 2025450 Urbani's around $15 for a 1.8-ounce bottle, but it's really strong, a few drops are enough for a dish. You always add it at the end since the aroma's destroyed by heating. Thu Nov 16 01:11:52 -0800 2006 2025267 11369 Robert Lauriston 6 2025999 That's what I figured (about the heat). So would that be good to toss over finished popcorn? (You have no idea how good that truffled popcorn was!!) BTW, BevMo has awesome chicken liver/truffle pate and truffle cheese. I go to wine tastings there frequently, and both of those items are incredible. Thu Nov 16 05:34:31 -0800 2006 2025450 23588 Ozumo 3 2025591 Ozumo, I bought some white truffle oil at TJ's this week. It's not bad. I think it was $8 or $9 for a bottle. Thu Nov 16 02:10:35 -0800 2006 2024872 36613 Mmmonica 4 2025995 Oh wow, it's back already?! I need to check TJ's out again!! If it's decent, that sounds like the best deal! Thu Nov 16 05:31:10 -0800 2006 2025591 23588 Ozumo 4 2027458 In my experience, the white truffle oil from TJ's tends to lose its flavor quickly. While it may be a good deal, half-way through the bottle, I feel like it just tastes like olive oil. Thu Nov 16 19:09:11 -0800 2006 2025591 14367 The Dive 5 2027530 Thanks, that's what I was afraid of. I guess I'll have to look around for Urbani's. Thu Nov 16 19:31:16 -0800 2006 2027458 23588 Ozumo 5 2027566 The last bottle we got from Trader Joe's still had plenty of good truffle aroma when we finished it, maybe four months after opening it. Thu Nov 16 19:39:09 -0800 2006 2027458 11369 Robert Lauriston 2 2025335 I saw white truffles at the Pasta Shop in Market Hall last night. Not sure of price. Thu Nov 16 00:26:42 -0800 2006 2024613 14367 The Dive 3 2025484 Are Oliveto's foragers still the white truffle source for teh Pasta Shop? Thu Nov 16 01:24:37 -0800 2006 2025335 10039 Melanie Wong 1 2025198 The truffle oil that the Mushroom Vendor carries in the Ferry Plaza is quit good. My bf picks up a bottle of this from time to time. It's a small simple bottle and I think they only have this one so it would be easy to find. Also, their Truffle & Salt by Cassina Rossa is very nice. Wed Nov 15 23:37:17 -0800 2006 2024571 52212 Lori SF 1 2025227 I've never had success buying black truffles at gourmet vendors. They don't smell as fragrant as what you'd get in a restaurant and as you implied, it just felt like I bought a $40 ball of black nothing. Oils definitely give you more bang for the buck. Wed Nov 15 23:45:19 -0800 2006 2024571 13289 Porthos 1 2025343 I saw a sign at monterey market saying ask for white alba truffles. Thu Nov 16 00:31:03 -0800 2006 2024571 23014 katnat 1 2026486 expect to pay a minimum of $225 an ounce for the small white truffles, to $300/oz for the fist size ones. most stores get their white truffles from one or two local wholesalers who contract with folks in alba to select and export. Thu Nov 16 14:53:14 -0800 2006 2024571 25435 jeffyd 1 2027807 Thanks. When you say most stores get them from the same wholesalers, does that mean 1 or 2 other places have a different source? Price-wise, the $225 an ounce is about 50% higher than the prices from Polarica, a local restaurant supply wholesaler which seems reasonable given I'd have to buy 4 ounces from Polarica... Thu Nov 16 20:32:13 -0800 2006 2024571 17221 SteveG