Food - Drink
The Mushroom Substitute For Less Expensive Black Truffle Flavor
By CLAIRE REDDEN
Black truffles have a rich umami flavor with a hefty price tag to match, but luckily, there’s a mushroom that has the same black truffle flavor without the black truffle price.
Black trumpet mushrooms, also known as the Trumpet of Death or black chanterelles, are pungent wild mushrooms that, when dried, have a flavor that rivals that of black truffles.
Ranging in color from brown to black or grey, black trumpets grow in France and North America and can be identified by their lack of gills, funnel-like stems, and suede-like skin.
Black trumpets are one of the most pungent mushrooms, with a strong, sweet, woodsy aroma and complex umami flavor that ranges from rich and nutty to smoky and sweet.
When dried, the mushrooms develop a black-truffle-like flavor, and at $8-15 per ounce, black trumpets are quite cheap compared to truffles, which can cost up to $2,000 per pound.
Black trumpets also require little trimming and cleaning work, but make sure to add them to a dish a little at a time, since they can easily overpower other ingredients.
To get that black truffle flavor, use dried black trumpets and incorporate them into recipes after rehydrating, or grind the mushrooms into a powder to sprinkle over dishes.
