New Product 2008

Outstanding New Product 2008: Transatlantic Foods Aux Délices des Bois Black Truffle Butter

Melt a pad of Aux Délices des Bois Black Truffle Butter on top of a steak or lather it on an ear of sweet summer corn, and you will be gently moved by the earthy, chocolaty aroma. “We mix truffle oil, truffle juice and truffle bits with the butter, so we get a three-dimensional effect, much like when you add stock to a sauce,” says François Baumont, vice president, Transatlantic Foods, New York City.

The truffle juice, especially, helps to create the extraordinary flavor. Whereas most truffle butters only contain truffle oil, “we use truffle juice, which is the cooking water from the truffles, and that liquid carries water soluble flavors as well,” Baumont explains. Transatlantic Foods uses both Périgord and Black Summer Truffles as well as 100 percent pure creamery butter from Wisconsin, which exudes a light, luscious texture and is the perfect foil for the musky truffles. “We use a butter with 82 percent butter fat, which is a great carrier of flavor and has good flavor itself,” he adds.

Transatlantic Foods, a leading supplier of truffles, mushrooms and meats, imports its own truffle products to help control costs. “We were importing these products already and therefore can offer them cost effectively in the butter. It’s a lot of flavor for a great price,” Baumont says.

He suggests using the butter sparingly, as a finishing only. Swirl it into a sauce or use it to top seasonal vegetables, like asparagus, green beans and artichokes, or baked potatoes. If cooked, the volatile flavors will escape.

The product is available year-round packaged in easily stackable 3-ounce oval see-through containers, 3-ounce logs or foodservice sizes—all with the truffle pieces in plain view. Suggested retail price: $7.99/3 ounces; transatlanticfoods.com.—Denise Shoukas