Fake truffle oil
I've been told that most white truffle oil is fake.
Is this true? How do you determine whether it is fake? All of the white truffle oil I've bought has a sliver of truffle floating around in the bottle... surely that is enough proof?
Best Answer
This is true, most truffle oil is not flavored with truffle, it is rather flavored with dithiapentane(an odorant). You should be able to tell by the label if it is in fact flavored by the actual truffle or dithiapentane. Not sure I would say that a sliver of truffle in the bottle would be enough to know for sure.
On a side not I recently had the opportunity of meeting chef Sergi Arola of La Broche, who While he was shaving some fresh truffle said that truffle oil was one of the worst ingredients that he has seen chefs use, and that people need to just stay away from it.
I have to admit the real truffle shavings were amazing, but not all of us can afford them.
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How do I know if my truffle oil is real?
As you open a truffle oil bottle made from real truffle, then the aroma is what you will first notice. If you do not have the smell of truffle but have the smell of olive oil, then you have purchased fake oil. Our oils smell of truffle as we use real truffles to make it.Is my truffle oil fake?
Chemically enhanced truffle oils will always either list their chemical ingredients outright on the label or include words like \u201ctruffle flavor\u201d or \u201cnatural truffle aroma.\u201d If the ingredients don't say \u201ctruffles\u201d specifically, you're probably looking at a fake oil.Why is truffle oil fake?
There are no truffles in your precious truffle oil. Originally, truffle oil was high-quality olive oil infused with black or white truffles, but today, most of the stuff is made synthetically with ingredients like 2,4-dithiapentane, an aromatic molecule that gives truffles their distinctive smell.Is most truffle fake?
Almost all are made with an artificial truffle flavouring, which ruins your appreciation of the wonderfully complex natural flavour and aroma of real truffles. Truffles have a very subtle flavour, yet one that is utterly wonderful when you come to know and appreciate it.Real vs Fake Truffle Oil
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Images: Ron Lach, Andrzej Gdula, Andrzej Gdula, Denys Mikhalevych