Often referred to as "white diamonds", white truffles rank high among luxury food items right up next to caviar, champagne, and foie gras. More rare and expensive than black truffles, white truffles only grow in Italy and keep people waiting all year till mid-October to the end of December. Their seasonality is is only part of the reason these fungi are so expensive. Others reasons could be their heavenly aroma and use to elevate a dish whether a bowl of pasta or a plate of eggs. Truffles are hard to find and cannot be cultivated, which adds to their exclusiveness. Weather also effects truffles, so one might think of truffles like they think of wine--there's some good years and some bad years. So what's the debate you ask? Are truffles worth the extra $55-$75? Its all a matter of preference. I've had many people say that truffles are the biggest waste of money while others swear by them. I had to taste for myself!
I tried the Raviolo at Maialino which is a large format raviolo filled with fresh ricotta, chopped spinach, and an egg yolk. The raviolo is tossed in a sage-brown-butter sauce and topped with shaved white truffles. The truffles melted into the raviolo and gave off that intoxicating aroma. The raviolo was delightful and paired well with a Carema--an earthy nebbiolo from Piemonte. The dish was pretty amazing, but worth $70? I don't know, I think I might have to give it a second go-around!
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