How is truffle salt supposed to be used?

Question

I have recently been gifted some truffle salt flakes "5% Australian Grown Perigord (Tuber melanosporum) Truffle".

I'm not used to using truffle in my cooking, so I'm not sure what to expect.

I'm finding that when I open the container, I can certainly smell something different to just salt (I imagine this is from the truffle). However, I have tried seasoning some scrambled eggs with it (made with just eggs and unsalted butter), and I cannot taste any difference to just using plain table salt.

Are there better uses for this salt where the flavour would be tasteable? Could it be that the amount of salt necessary to make the dish salty, is not enough for there to be more than a trace amount of truffle?

Answer 1

Truffle salt is more a gimmick (of hostess gift) than something that is really useful.

Use it as a finishing salt.

I'd sprinkle it over rice or potato purée or roasted, or even boiled vegetables.

I would not use it for cooking; the truffle flavor will disapear.

Answer 2

I regularly use truffle salt in scrambled eggs, and it can be sublime! However, you have to be aware that the truffle aroma is rather volatile. The one we had lost its flavour completely after about 12 months. (And this also explains what Max points out - it should be added just before serving, or it will evaporate.)

There is also a huge range of prices/qualities. I tried a different brand, and it was just salt with some indistinct black pieces thrown in. Maybe you got unlucky?

If you're after that punchy truffle flavour, you're better off with truffle oil. (Yes, it's completely fake, but if you use it in something cooked, it's definitely 'good enough'. It won't taste like proper Piedmontese white truffle, but it won't taste bad either. And it's orders of magnitude cheaper.)