Monday 15 December 2008

1 comments:

Anonymous said...

SUMMER truffles
Classic Perigord black truffles are a winter crop. They need a good dose of the chills to ripen, mature and develop full aroma and flavour.
This is why Tasmanian truffles are better than those from Manjimup in Western Australia and why the best here come from the colder parts of the state.
So, conscious of all the truffle scams that exist, I was somewhat sceptical when reading of a dish using "Tasmanian summer truffles" on the menu at the Terrace in Launceston recently.
And I was wrong. For Tasmania is now not only producing the famed black truffle of Perigord (tuber melanosporum) but also a species called tuber aesticum a later ripening truffle with, in Europe, a much wider geographical spread.
Grown by Tim Terry of Tasmanian Truffle Enterprises on his property near Deloraine, they’re black and nuggety like the Perigord but paler on the inside and decidedly less aromatic and flavoursome.
Sliced thinly and just warmed in butter, they were still attractively truffle-y and, at a fraction of the cost of their classic cousin, they could add a unique Tasmanian touch to many of our summer dishes, including, I would think, fresh oysters and the Christmas turkey.
Terry’s contact is info@tastruffles.com.au
GP