By Adrianne Loggins

Unique. Earthy. Amazing. Aromatic. Delicious. These words have all been used to describe the singularity of fresh wild truffles, especially those that grow in Italian soil. But describing the flavor of a truffle is much more difficult. In order to understand why chefs all over the world adore them, a person needs to experience the flavor of truffles for his or herself.

Truffles are wild mushrooms, or tubers. They grow in the ground. But they only grow wild in specific areas of the world, mainly France and Italy, making them very rare and therefore always in demand. They are prized for their powerful aroma and flavor. Truffles are most definitely a beloved culinary ingredient, even to those who are not fond of the mushroom flavor.

As Justin Marx, CEO of Marx Foods based in Seattle, Washington, puts it, “People either love it or hate it. The haters become lovers over time. It’s that kind of acquired taste.”

Francesco Marra, co-founder of Euro Gourmet with his brother, Emiliano, is a professional chef in Washington, D.C. He and his family are from Naples, Italy. Marra says that he and his brother both went to culinary schools, and when they moved to the states, they came with dreams of working in the culinary industry.

“We knew we wanted to open a restaurant but the investment was too big so we opened Euro Gourmet,” he says. Euro Gourmet is a fine foods distributor based in D.C. and Marra says the first products they distributed were seafood and fresh truffles from Italy.

After all, Italian truffles are the most delicious according to Marx. “The Italian truffles are of significantly better quality. For whatever reason, Italy is better suited to truffles,” he says. But as a result, they also tend to be more expensive. Therefore, Marx and Marra have developed a way to offer customers lower prices for finer quality truffles.

A trend that has been recently occurring among distributing companies that work with fine foods is that these companies are giving their individual “gourmet loving” customers the opportunity to purchase foods like fresh truffles for wholesale prices, as Marx and Marra say, cutting out the middle men and offering lower prices for higher quality truffles.

“Everything is straight from the source and less expensive for the consumers,” Marra says.

Marx Foods was founded two years ago, Marx says, when consumers kept calling in wanting to be able to purchase fine foods. “We decided to give them a way to shop the way restaurants shop.” Because his company is based in Washington, Marx says the most popular truffle with his customers is the Oregon Black Truffle, but the Italian Black Summer Truffle follows as the second most popular.

The fresher the truffle, the more popular it is with his customers, according to Marra.

But in order to distribute truffles, the fungi have to be hunted and picked before they can be packaged and shipped. Truffles grow only during certain times of the year, which according to the authors of www.wintertruffles.com is why purchasing them is “difficult and expensive.” They report, “Truffles are harvested only during winter and summer months.” Winter truffles are the most desired of the species because, according to the authors of the site, they have a stronger aroma than summer truffles do. Winter truffle season usually starts in early October and ends as late as February.

Marra says he has had the opportunity to go hunting for truffles.

“You usually go only in the mornings and the hunters are very private about the hunting spots. They know the spots and you go with their trained dogs in the fields. The flavor of the truffle when you pick it is amazing. You really want to try the flavor of the fresh products. I remember one time we picked up a truffle that was almost a pound. It was a big truffle.”

Before this week, I had never tasted anything like the flavor from a truffle. But in the spirit of research I decided to cook myself a massive Italian dinner and used olive oil infused with white truffle aroma for flavoring, courtesy of Justin Marx. I cooked one of Mr. Marx’s recipes on his Web site, www.marxfoods.com. It was a variation of his Porcini mushroom tenderloin recipe. I sprinkled the mushroom sauce, mixed with the truffle oil, and after the first bite I was hooked. Though the flavor was much less intense than what a fresh truffle would taste like, I began to understand the unconditional love between a chef and their truffles. It was mouthwatering. It tasted like Mother Nature’s gift to humankind. I lovingly ate each and every bite.

But I could not find the words to describe the taste, except that it was, as Marx says, “intensely mushroom. I don’t even know if I can articulate what a truffle tastes like,” he says, “It’s its own thing.” I too was flummoxed when it came time to write words down to convey the experience. It’s a singular flavor that no other ingredient in the world possesses. The flavor was sophisticated and earthy, oxymoronic as it sounds. It was as though I was in a high-end restaurant, eating the finest plate on the menu. Sean Markey wrote in a National Geographic article that a truffle “can inspire poetry, romance, and crime.” They’re that good.
Marra says that the flavor is quite distinguished. Even so, he agrees that putting into words what a truffle tastes like is difficult. “It’s a unique flavor, very exotic and very unique. Unless you try it, it’s really hard to explain. You have to experience it yourself to give an opinion.”

It is because of their ambrosia-like quality that truffles sell for a pretty penny. “Pound for pound, the tuber is the second most expensive food in the world,” Markey reported, “During the peak of the white truffle season[…] the tubers can fetch US $1,200 to $2,300 a pound ($2600 to $5000 a kilogram). That’s ten times the price of more common truffle varieties. The only food that costs more is caviar.” The most expensive truffle known to date was a record-breaking 3.3-pound white truffle that was dug up in Tuscany and sold at auction for $330,000! And yet, chefs and gourmet lovers alike run over each other to get their hands on these tasty ‘shrooms, regardless of the intimidating prices.

Even though truffles are so expensive, there are alternatives. Marra says, “If someone can’t afford the truffle, there are truffle oils, and with them, at least you get the flavor.” Marx says he actually prefers truffle products. “I don’t have a favorite truffle, per se. Based on my usage, I use truffle products a lot more than fresh truffles, in part because they don’t spoil. You can just stock your pantry and always have the flavor of truffle on hand. I regularly use truffle oil, truffle salt and truffle honey.” So for customers who can’t afford to spend oodles of money on fresh truffles, cooking with products infused with truffle flavor is a close second to the real thing.

Even so, Marra still says there is nothing like a fresh truffle. “We have a saying that we made up,” he says, “Truffles are the Viagra of the foods.” The fungi can bring any meal to life.