If you had just opened this bottle without reading the label or knowing its contents, you would be forgiven for thinking the “gunk” on around the glass rim indicated there was something seriously wrong… until you got that unmistakable and intense whiff of truffle aroma. Yes, minced black truffles swimming in good honey. Yum, is right. A gift from friends who dragged this back from Rome a few months ago, we were saving it for a special occasion, and appetizers for a New Year’s Eve dinner seemed like just the right time to twist the cap open…
After pushing the minced truffles back into the honey and stirring it a little bit, we were ready to experiment with some cheese pairings.
I tried some with ripe brie and some aged manchego. The brie was okay but nothing to write home about. The sharper, saltier and harder manchego and the honey, however, was a beautiful, aromatic and delicious match. Amazing how such few choice ingredients can yield such a memorable nibble, or two, or three… :)
I guess the basic attraction of such a simple nibble is the salty cheese offset by the sweet honey. The addition of truffles just lifts it several notches higher, since it isn’t often one gets to indulge in black truffles, in whatever form…
25 Responses
Your appy is similar to Bee Stings…
hello MM may i make pasingit? bettyq, hello. i am on the lookout for black truffle oil. heading to italian district this weekend. had a taste of deviled eggs using black truffle oil in a chi-chic restaurant. i experimented using your lobster oil in my deviled egg, added a piece of lobster and a celery leaf. not bad… but would be experimenting again once i get the black truffle oil.
very informative…thank you very much…
You are lucky to have friends who haul interesting food finds from abroad as presents for you but I guess it’s just their way of giving back from the elegant delicious dinner parties you invite them on. :)
Yummy!. I can live on bread and cheese alone with San Pellegrino of course. I was shopping for some cheese and salami at a deli in Napa one day. The lady behind the cheese counter very kindly let me taste different kind of cheeses and Manchengo was one of them. I liked the taste and opted to buy some. She then told me that the manchengo goes well with quince and very promptly let me taste the combination. Naturally, I instantly bought some quince as well. The hubby was driving at that time and I could not wait so I started eating manchengo and quince on the way home. C’est la vie.
Yes, salty and sweet is always a good combination. Probably the reason why I like Kettle popcorn.
@ami …and why I like nutella with potato chips :)
Salted caramels… yum.
Love the last pic, it looks as though the cheese is going to jump out of the picture straight into my waiting salivating mouth. Yum! :)
Now that’s what I call a balanced snack meal.. hehehe.. salt and honey.. ^_^
Hi MM – out of topic but in view of latest financial news lately, i.e., FB IPO and Apple, you have not written any followup on your ‘ghost’ investments from years ago. Would be curious how those ‘investments’ have paid out…
Dragon, interesting question, I think my last post I recommended selling all out and heading to the beach… but I am curious too, so will estimate what the portfolio is worth had I just held on to all stocks and done nothing with them… :)
why are those truffles so expensive up till now? if a pound is $1,200, then a kilo would be something like $600, is that true? they use pigs to find out where they are, but later on decided to train dogs (since the pigs often eat them) instead. i’m fascinated!
PITS, the other way around :) 2.2 pounds to a kilo… At any rate, they are in demand and hard to find, so the price stays up. When they have figured to synthetically or artificially impregnated the fungus onto tree roots and cultivate them like crops, I suspect the prices will remain high…
*insert expletive here*
I had always thought truffles were expensive particularly because it was hard to find a trained pig who could sniff them out in the forest.
anonymous paul, in a good way, I presume? :)
Of course in a good way. Manila has been invaded by all things “truffled”. Dousing fries and mac and cheeses and whatnot with “white truffle oil” (of which most oils used are synthetically scented). This truffle honey is undoubtedly made with the real deal.
Going through this post gave me goosebumps! Nakakakilig ang thought ng cheese and truffle honey. I love manchego! And I was able to try truffle honey for the first time at the Spiral buffet.
MM, Curious what type of Wine did you match this with?
THANKS, MM! until they have figured how to … , you mean …
Whoa! Truffle! I’m addicted to a burger in Dumaguete na may truffle, bleu cheese and bacon! My third world paycheck makes it hard for me to have truffle as often as i want! truffle reminds me of the oh-so-yummy-goodness-my-mouth-just-had-an-orgasm feeling.
By the way MM, i saw a pic of you with the teen sa isang lifestyle magazine sa Cebu :D
big fan,
RV
bakerwannabe, if you liked store-bought membrillo (quince) paste, try making your own–it is the easiest of all fruit preserves to make since quince is so high in pectin, and home-made knocks even a good store-bought membrillo totally out of the park. I think both bettyq and I have posted directions on this blog in the past.
PITS, the idea that dogs do not eat truffles is a myth. Dogs are popular mainly because they are easier to train and travel with, the truffle hunter must still get to the truffle before the dog does.
Oh, MM, you are soooo lucky to have that!!! Truffle honey is one of my favorite things. Mila knows my story of when I first tasted it — I had to do something quite disgusting, but I maintain that it was worth it! ;-) My friend recently brought back some truffled honey from Florence, and we had it with some Pecorino. It was lovely, but I agree that aged Manchego would be even better, because of the greater contrast in flavor!
Have you tried truffled salami from Italy? My friend brings it whenever she comes to Manila, and I’m telling you, MM, that it is worth every (good) expletive that Anonymous Paul could utter!
Tried a truffle honey mix in Salon de Ning a few months ago, but I am not sure if it was synthetically flavored with truffle oil or uses this same ground truffle mixed into the honey. Either way, pairing it with salty cheeses was outtasight :D