11/9/2004: Big truffle
 

http://cellar.org/2004/bigtruffle.jpg

$41,000. That's how must that thing in the image costs.

Not the girl... the "thing" she's holding.

It's a truffle, weighing over one kilogramme (2.2 pounds). It was sold at auction (full story).

It turns out, though, that this isn't the largest truffle ever discovered. the full story explains that the largest ever was over twice this size, and was presented to Eisenhower in 1954.

I would be honored to be presented with any size or type of fungus, never mind one larger than my head.

I'd prefer a black truffle that size but realize I can't be picky.

I was hoping for the chocolate kind.

I don't care how damn expensive it is, I just can't get that excited about what is essentially a kind of mushroom.

I' love to have enough money to eat that thing covered in baked beans in public.

Can anyone that has tried one of these things describe what they taste like? And for that that amount of money, how powerful of an orgasm does it induce during digestion?

I can't imagine eating something that looks like a tumor that got rolled around in a pile of dog sh*t.

But hey thats just me.

oh, actually, that crumbly stuff you're looking at isn't part of the truffle. It actually is dog sh*t.

I'm half-expecting it to suddenly expand and engulf the girl in a mass of truffle-y-goo then go on a rampage through the quiet lightly populated hillside. Mmmm...badly propped, B-movies...

That's one nasty looking 'shroom. Yuck.

There's a reason its cost is comparable to class-A drugs.

actually, at 41000/kilo, it's only a little less expensive than its vision-inducing counterpart, which runs at a street price (around here) of about $20 for 1/8 ounce, so about 5500/kilo (with bulk discounts....free-market economists should really take a look at the drug market in the US. Maybe Limbaugh could call his addiction a case study...)

Creme tangerine and montelimar ...

I have only tried white truffle cream which is delicious. I have had slices black truffle in a sauce on tenderloin which was great. The truffle seems to enhance the flavor that is already there (which is why they are beloved by chefs) and add an earthy quality ot it.

I've never had truffle, but I would try it if someone else paid for it.

Ah but truffles aren't usually this large (obviously) and the price distortion because of that is huge. A kilo of winter truffles would usually knock you back USD 2-2500ish unless something serious has happened since I last had the pleasure of browsing the food halls at harrods. Summer truffles are however far cheaper.