The Difference Between White And Black Truffles, According To Ina Garten

Anytime there's a kitchen crisis that calls for some clarification, chances are you can turn to the "Barefoot Contessa" for clarity. She even has an entire page dedicated to questions from fans on her website. While it's no secret that Ina Garten uses only the best ingredients that she has access to, sometimes it can seem daunting to try to stock your own pantry with similar ingredients. For those cooking her recipes, it's obviously important to have something close to the celebrity chef's ingredients to really make her dishes shine. That means you'll need something with truffles to really make her truffle mashed potatoes taste just as good as hers. 

Fortunately, a fan wrote into her site asking Garten about the difference in truffles, "I saw you make truffled mashed potatoes the other day and wondered what the difference in taste is between white and black...which is more 'truffley?'" Though we know that Garten likes to use Urbani White Truffle Butter, those searching for something else to substitute in might find her take on white and black truffles helpful.

When it comes to choosing between white and black truffles, it would seem that Garten prefers white truffles. She responded to the fan saying, "Black truffles tend to come from the South of France, while white truffles tend to come from Italy. Black truffles have a much more subtle flavor, but I prefer the strong pungent flavor of white truffles. I actually only use truffle butter, which has actual truffles in it- because truffle oil can vary enormously in terms of truffle content." 

The good news is that those that love truffles can really lay the white truffle butter on thick. However, it can be a polarizing flavor that some are not such huge fans of. So, if you don't just love truffles or you have guests with food preferences you're unsure of, you could switch to black truffles for a much milder flavor. You can also just scale back on the amount of white truffle butter you use. Whatever your solution, now you'll be aware that black truffles are more subtle, while white truffles will really pack a flavor punch.