Truffles are a delicious, and very expensive treat. If you grow them yourself, you will be wanting to know how to store fresh truffles, and if you are lucky enough to have found them in the wild then you will want to know the same thing! Read on for our best truffle tips.
How Do You Preserve Fresh Truffles
Using a fresh truffle as soon as you can is the best course of action – these mushrooms lose their flavour and aroma pretty quickly.
This being said, you can preserve your truffles for a long time if you are not planning to use them straight away:
Freezing
You can freeze truffles, if you have found yourself with a glut, or you don’t want to use your truffle straight away – however, this method can affect the aroma of your mushroom.
If you freeze your truffles, you should use them whole in cooking, rather than shaving or grating them, as the flavour will be impaired.
Freeze truffles in the same way as you fridge them – wrap them in tissue paper and place in a sealed container, having made sure that they are clean and dry before you do so.
Rice
Remember the advice that you are given when you drop your phone in water? You put it in a bowl of rice, right? Well, you can preserve truffles in the same way!
The smell and flavour disappears when the air gets to the mushroom, and it seeps into the environment.
Placing your truffles into a bowl of rice will prevent air and moisture from getting to them, thus preventing them from spoiling or losing their taste.
Fridging
Putting your truffles in the fridge, wrapped individually in tissue paper, will prevent air and moisture getting to them.
Place the wrapped truffles in a sealed jar for the best results, and try to use them within a fortnight.
Preserving in oil
This is perhaps the best way to preserve truffles long term – the oil protects the flavour of the mushroom, and keeps it safe from the ravages of the air.
Simply place your truffles in a jar, add enough olive oil to cover them, then place the jar in the fridge. This will store pretty much indefinitely!
If you like a bit of a visual instruction, here is a little video packed with ideas on how to store your truffles, in both the long and short term:
What Is The Best Way To Store Truffles
The best way to store these little guys in in the fridge. You will need to individually wrap each one in tissue paper, and store it in an airtight jar.
Changing the paper every 24 hours is recommended, as truffles lose their moisture with time, which can cause them to mould.
If you spot a bit of mould on any of them, it is perfectly safe to rinse this off under a tap, then dry and re wrap the mushroom.
If you have a fridge that errs on the cold side, try to keep the truffles close to the front – it is important that they don’t freeze!
How Long Can You Keep Truffles In The Fridge
If you keep your truffles as they are recommended – i.e. in tissue paper, in a sealed jar in the fridge, they should last for around 5 days.
Some truffles, such as the Autumn variety, can retain their flavour for up to a fortnight, but most should be eaten within a few days for the best results.
If you have preserved them in oil, this is another matter – in this case they can be kept for much longer.
As a tip, you can store your fresh truffles in the fridge with your eggs. The egg shells are permeable, and will absorb some of the delicate flavour from the truffles.
You can do the same with a nice piece of cheese; just popping it in the same jar as the truffles will impart a delicious flavour to the cheese!
How To Preserve Truffles In Olive Oil
There are two ways of doing this – you can either preserve your truffles whole, to keep them fresh for longer, or you can make truffle oil.
To preserve them in oil, simply place your fresh truffles in a jar and cover them with enough olive oil to keep them below the surface.
Shake the jar slightly, to remove air bubbles. Sealed and stored properly, these can last for up to a year.
To make truffle oil, you will need 25oml of olive oil and 25g of fresh truffle.
- Grate or shave your truffle thinly, then place into a jar that is big enough to hold all the oil.
- Cover the truffle with the oil, then cover and seal.
- For best results, this oil should be left for at least 2 days before tasting.
- Your truffles in olive oil should be kept in a cold, dark place, or even in the refrigerator.
- If you keep them in the fridge, the cold temperatures will make the oil go cloudy, but this will clear completely when the oil is kept at room temperature for a few hours.
How Long Do Truffles Last In Oil
As long as you keep your truffles in oil unopened and stored correctly, they can last for up to a year.
You will need a cool, dark place in which to store your truffles, where they won’t get too much of a temperature fluctuation or light damage.
Even if you discover an unopened bottle of truffles in oil after the year has passed, chances are they will still be fine to eat!
Provided they have been properly stored, these little gems can last in a preserving liquid almost indefinitely.
Eating them after a year, or if they have been improperly stored, can affect the taste and quality, but they won’t do you any harm as long as they smell and taste ok.
Final Words
Fresh truffles are wonderful, and as such you will want to store them for as long as you can. Hopefully now you have some great tips to do so!