Cooking For Engineers

[pbone]

I've been infected with raging truffle appetite, having recently come up with "coddled eggs infused with white truffle flavor" (see recipes forum here) using white truffle oil. I want to obtain an Oregon fresh white truffle to compare with the incomparable Italian white truffles I'm familiar with. The season (late October through early December) is just beginning, and I am determined to acquire one. Internet searching has not produced one site that actually sells them! My bizzy son, who lives in Portland and has a bean-to-bar chocolate manufactory (Woodblock Chocolate), tells me he has tried them, and they are very disappointing; they lack any of the pungeant flavor and aroma we associate with Italian white truffles. BUT there is a chef, Jack Czarnecki, with a restaurant in McMinnville, OR, who appears to be a local truffle maven, and he avows in an article that Oregon truffles measure up brilliantly to the traditional ones. I'd love to see a discussion here of Oregon truffles, how they taste and suggestions as to how to acquire one for comparison before spending a fortune on a disappointment. I know they could be shipped in a plastic container of rice and do just fine. I might ultimately try to call the chef, but I'd love to hear from knowledgable enthusiasts here first. Are Oregon white truffles really the miracle I'm looking for? Or just well-intentioned hype?

[Guest]

Temptress Truffles has fresh in Portland. Email her or go to farmers market and find her.

[pbone]

Thank you, guest - I located the truffle temptress online, and she looks and sounds adorable! She trained that enormous schnauzer to sniff out truffles! I emailed her and left a phone message. Hope I have good luck here. Still interested in any discussion of Oregon truffles, especially the white ones.

[pbone]

To guest, and all and sundry - I tried to contact your Oregon white truffle gal, by email and online as well - alas, no response. Does anyone else have a source they'd recommend so I could TRY an Oregon white truffle? I live on the East Coast, so it's not feasible for me to visit the wonderful markets of Portland. I know truffles are not in season now, but I'm gearing up...any source for fresh white truffles in Oregon would be greatly appreciated!