Personal vs. Market Values

I've seen truffle oil with truffle physically in it. So there may be variations.

I'm a foodie and a fairly serious one. On a recent trip to Italy (to eat and research) I tried truffles several times. For some reason they had just never been on my gastronomic radar. I love mushrooms and morels (which grow on my property). On each occasion it was black truffle (white truffle is more prized) and I was surprised that they really didn't have much flavor for me. I wouldn't call myself a supertaster but in most other things I have a fairly discriminatory palate. My wife, also a foodie, was shocked that I didn't get much from the truffle. I got a vaguely earthy flavor and that was about it.

So for some, it may 'resonate'. For others it may not. I hope to try white truffle (20 euros to have them grated over your dish of pasta at Diana in Bologna!) one of these days.

As others have mentioned, truffle oil is not the best way to test your truffle affinity. It usually contains lower end truffle in any number of lower end oils. Fine for fries but I wouldn't want a fine dish to hinge on truffle oil.

16f4, good points. There are also people who get a soapy unpleasant taste from cilantro. However, in the case of cilantro and truffles these folks don't necessarily have a "better" sense of taste. They may be "deficient" in other areas. So how they respond to one or two other things is not a measure of their discriminatory capabilities across the board.

I suspect the same could be said among audiophiles. In my brief time as an "audiophile" I have found that some tweaks, recordings, systems make a big difference just as described by other audiophiles while others make no difference whatsoever. I have no way of knowing if that is just inexperience or how my perception is wired.....and we all have to remember, hearing is not just an acuity issue. There is no 'hearing' without processing in the brain.

There is an extreme visual analogy of this:

 Certain types of brain pathology can lead to someone with normal eyes not being able to see. In this specific condition they are essentially blind because the eye is not connected to the visual centers of the brain even though the eye itself is perfect. Sometimes, however, a reflex tract will be preserved. When this is the case, the person is blind but if you throw something at them they will duck.

erik, sorry that this has taken a decidedly foodie turn.....but that's not entirely our fault. ;-)

For what its worth I agree with your point completely.

whart, I own 250 acres in central SC. It has a fairly large creek bottom in which we find morels from time to time. Some years they are there, some they are not. One year we found 15-20 over a week's time. We thought that was a great bonanza and fixed them several ways.  Since then, nothing for years until this spring. They popped up everywhere and kept coming up for three or four weeks. We lost count at 60 or so and found many more and missed quite a few that got past maturity.

We ate them so many ways. Gave away quite a few as well. My favorite two ways are lightly fried in a very light tempura and in risotto which I made several times. So good. 

Who knows when we will see them again.

Agreed, but that striving can become a treadmill with a carrot in front of it if you can't find some level of satisfaction. As a foodie I have spent years trying things and cooking things outside of my comfort zone to attain those "acquired tastes". But when that hobby or this one or photography comes to the point that I am never happy then I drop it. Treadmills are for hamsters.

Agree. But I'm not going to lose sleep over finding the singular most perfect nuance of nutmeg in tortelli di zucca and let it make me miserable. That would be a treadmill. Enjoying good food where I can find it (and make it myself) is a joy.

And I don't know what a poser foodie might be. I do not have an ID card or certificate and I do not know the secret handshake.  ;-)

I'm fully aware of my audiophile poser/wannabe status.

He said it was a mistake so he wasn't assuming liberties. If it was a driver's license or an airline ticket, that's another story. This is an entertainment forum. I don't really care how someone spells my name here.