Truffle Oil Kerfuffle

This writing business has some interesting pitfalls, not unlike hiking down a woodsy trail in Forest Park and suddenly finding yourself sprawled on your face in the dirt, the innocent victim of a vicious tree root or malevolent stone. But since it's a little too easy to forget that you were distracted by the light coming through the trees or a flicker exploding from some nearby brush, you kind of have to 'fess up to not paying enough attention.

Which is kind of what happened when I interviewed Jeff Roberts and related his contention that the tartufo bufala in a pizza at Nostrana contained truffle oil, a synthetic flavoring agent. Rather than simply asking the waiter or, better yet, calling the restaurant the next day, even though the assertion felt a little odd considering Nostrana's penchant for keeping it real, I blithely wrote it up and sent it in.

Understandably, this didn't set very well with the folks at the restaurant, and resulted in a call to the editor to let her know that their tartufo bufala has little pieces of real truffle in it and absolutely no truffle oil. So my editor composed a correction and, using the opportunity to make it a "teachable moment," asked me to write an article on truffle oil. (To this my witty husband responded, "How many times do you have to write it?")

So now you can read "A Kerfuffle Over Truffle Oil" and decide for yourself what to do the next time you see truffle sauce advertised on the menu. Or if you really want to use that bottle that's sitting nonchalantly in your cupboard.