ottawa foodies

i get quite a few emails about this so i thought i'd point out publicly about the culinary "truffled" fad... don't get me going on this... most of the high priced bottles available are synthetics and actually contain no true truffle extract but a synthetic derivative. it's also in the same family as androgens and testostorone just so can bring sexy back to your dishes if you don't have access to fresh truffles whose taste and aroma are limited, time-sensitive and dissipate quickly.

the aromatic semiochemical is 2,4-dithiapentane is a stable compound with aroma that is very long lasting and is as cheap as a lot of commodity chemicals. you can order it from most food chemical suppliers online or if you're an organic chem maestro, can create in vitro simply by building on the pentane molecule.

order this flavor compound cheap and mix a couple drops of this into your bottle of store bought olive oil and bang, i bet you'll call yourself king chef LMAO. anyway, just a few pennies on top of the cost of your ordinary olive oil and voila -- "truffle" your food all you want. don't get ripped off with high priced truffle oil in stores, make it yourself is the message.

and hmmm funny business idea: wouldn't it be a good idea to spike milkshakes and protein drinks with 2,4-dithiapentane thing, charge a premium and sell at gyms and health food stores. don't forget to send me free flights to your mansion!

Pej, have you purchased the 2,4-dithiapentane yourself and can you recommend a supplier?

hi FF! i get vials as gifts among many other compounds from a colleage at City of Hope oncology labs in california. i'll find out his supplier and get back to you on orders. not exactly sure what the border declaration rules for that chemical he labels it as truffle extract. :)

Truffle oils are also typically quite potent, more so than a fresh truffle, and not necessarily in a good way. I find that some white truffle oils have too much of a sulfur-like quality to them that a fresh white truffle would not have. Black truffle oils lack the delicate nuttiness of a fresh black truffle. All this talk is making me think I should order some fresh ones... and soon!

List of suppliers for 2,4-dithiapentane is:
www.chemblink.com

(Disclaimer: part of this is just me showing off. You have been warned!)

Hey, speaking of which, Chimi: how long should I wait to try out the truffle oil I started infusing with my left over black last month?

I'd be in for some truffle purchase again, SO LONG as I can eat them the day they're received rather than waiting too long like I did the last time ;)

Or the shavings I have steeping in Armagnac?

chimi, FF: confirmed my contact sources it from china and they come in very large flasks which is why he ships me test tubes gratis occasionally. one flask i'm told can make enough to make hundreds of bottles of truffle oil. should there be enough interest, i'm willing to join a pool of people interested ordering a flask, meet up and make synthetic truffled stock. no am not a drug dealer. first thing though is that an import permit is likely needed for such a chemical. i am trying to contact a chemical supplier in the US. stay tuned.

so much for locally produced, respect for ingredients, cooked with the greatest care lingo LMAO!!!!!

chimi, i am in on the next batch of truffles, depending on type.

Pej & Momo - will keep you posted on truffle availability, Perigord should be readily available, whites are not in season and neither are burgundies... garlic truffles are available from Romania right now through another supplier, import might be an issue though.

Momo - not sure on the oil infusion, but the armagnac & shavings could be used now, for sure! Would make an amazing sauce to accompany foie gras or steak & beef marrow... oy vey. My head is spinning!

Pej - I'm 1 step ahead of you, I've requested an estimate for 1L of food-grade 2,4-dithiapentane, awaiting reply!

chimi - same here. i'm requesting quotes. careful, the fumes are so concentrated it should be handled in a well ventilated area, or even OUTSIDE. maybe wear a mask!

guys,

i have located a raw chemical supplier in toronto that is willing to ship in canada food grade aromatics and isolated flavor compounds including 2 of the 3 main truffle oil components. the 3rd one, androstenol, is a controlled substance and considered a steroid precursor only available at their german offices and ship only within germany. hmmm.....

PM me and get your olive oil and micropipettes ready! LOL!

I *knew* I should have bought a P1000 for home use!

Actually, speaking of which, if we got twelve people, we could each get our own little glass pipette for $2.50.

canadawide.ca

Also useful for adding water to whisky! Just make sure you wash it out first.

I'd imagine a medicine dropper or one of those little syringes for kids' medicine would work just fine, no? If I'm going to buy chemistry equipment for my kitchen, I'd rather start with an Erlenmeyer flask for decanting wine! ;-)

Pej, are you able to estimate a price (and quantity)?

Just got news back from a local supplier, actually the same as your pipette supplier Momo! Gonna get an estimate by tomorrow hopefully. Cheers!

FF, i'm applying for a commercial account with a chemical supplier in toronto. i have to use my registered business# and declare that my intentions with these volatile chemicals are for truffle oil/food production.

coordinating with chimi offline on price comparison and available phermones.

i'm particularly interested in synthesizing variants of white truffle oil, truffle salt, etc.. starting with 2,4-d and variations of the other chemicals as we source them.

a medicine dropper is not accurate. we're talking increments of 0.5 ul raw pheromone / 100ml olive oil can have a dramatic effect on flavor. we need accuracy to the microlitre.

let's discuss more offline. we could be hitting a gold mine here.

I will be quite happy to participate and have had some lab experience in case individuals are unfamiliar with the necessary lab equipment / glassware.

jag, nice to offer your experience. pm your contact info. we'll pursue this off the forums. i also have requisite molecular and organic chem qualifications. magna cum laude.

I should be receiving an order of oregon black truffles in a few weeks as well... would be interesting to compare tasting notes of resulting oil & a real truffle. Oregonian truffles are quite a bit different than perigords though... would still make for a fun experiment!

I am so in for a truffle oil tasting comparison. I don't know if I can be much help, skipped chemistry in favour of physics and engineering, but I'd be eager to participate/partake/purchase etc.

I would love to try a truffle tasting or truffle oil comparison also. I have a guy in Kitchener who has the best olive oil in North America. He imports it from Greece and its all carefully monitored and supervised. It's actual cold pressed extra virgin olive oil and its limited quantity but it might be a good match for this truffle oil experiment. How can I get in on the fun? Incidentally, I found a truffle supplier/purchaser out west. They have innocculated truffle trees for future truffle growth. Would that be of interest to anyone here?

All this talk of truffles is making my tummy rumble.

I wasn't aware there was anywhere in Ottawa to buy truffles. I haven't had them since Seattle because I hadn't seen them for sale here.

Bakingbombshell - Next time I get an order of French or Italian truffles, I will contact you. I've been talking to some west coast suppliers of Oregon truffles and am planning on getting a few ounces in the near future. PM me for more details!

Newuser2480 - the inoculated trees are taking off in America... the problem lies in the yield at this point, but the quality is supposed to be quite good...

Shipment of Périgord black winter truffles are incoming to my supplier, anyone interested? Will probably end up costing around $3.5/gram (delivered locally), truffles range from 1-3oz each so a single truffle would cost approx $100-minimum.

I think the olive oil from O Olive oil in California is very good.
They cold press their oils in California.

In Dec I bought some of their flavored oils and apparently they are the only company in the US that flavors their olive oils by pressing them with actual citrus and not just using extracts.

Farm Boy has some of their products I saw a few weeks ago.

For truffles on Amazon.com I had bought some French truffle paste that was very cheap.
I think I paid $20 for a 2 ounce jar of Perigord? truffle shavings.
probably not as good as fresh though.
The same brand I saw online in Canada for $200..kind of wish I had bought more then one jar?

ooliveoil.com/index.php

Shipping to Canada is too much. Farm boy and probably other "gourmet" shops probably carry this line.

What about this?
natural truffle aroma.
The company has very good and fast shipping from Montreal :)

www.ogourmet.com

Chinese Truffle peelings 200 grams for $50
ships in under a week to Ottawa :)

www.ogourmet.com

-usually O Gourmet has free shipping when you spend $100 and I think right now they have free shipping when you add a coffee or tea to your order.
You can get some teas for under $5 usually (and some more).

While many gasp in horror that what they are enjoying is actually the product of clever organic chemistry rather than tradition and real ingredients, the truth of the matter is that fresh truffle oil is just simply not as good!

Truffle oil made with real truffles is far less flavoursome, and that is the truth about truffle oil.

www.trufflehunter.co.uk