Like all things that are created in the kitchen, the only way to truly identify the real thing is to use Truffle Salt. Truffle Salt can be a fun cooking experience, where you are rewarded with delicious results.
All edible truffles start with the crushed black fungus known as the "Truffle." As the name implies, the Black Truffle has an extremely dark color and when crushed it produces a powdery substance that is incredibly tasty. For culinary purposes, the Black Truffle is best prepared by means of a grater, though some people like to use them in a mortar and pestle to produce a white-colored powder.
In the case of Black Truffles, making use of a grater will make it impossible to use with a mortar and pestle. These truffles have a very distinct texture and black coloring, but not when consumed raw. To get them prepared as an ingredient, it is necessary to cook them or roast them, then add them to your dish as a seasoning. It's not hard to distinguish between natural Truffles and black truffle sea salt since there are many differences between the two.
Most of the time, the Black Truffles will be served at their freshest. This can often be seen with the "Natural" varieties, which will always have a much more intense flavor than the Black variety. Black truffles are known for their use in many kinds of food, from caviar to wine, and truffle salt is very popular in a number of other dishes as well.
Unlike the Black Truffles, Truffle Salt will be a lot more readily available in supermarkets. As such, it is less expensive and often more appreciated, as well. If you want to save money, avoid buying the Black Truffles as they tend to be much more expensive than their natural counterparts.
Since Truffle Salt is so easy to find, you will find it in most grocery stores, but especially in health food stores. This is because it is also a great way to avoid paying retail prices for ingredients that you could be enjoying instead.
In addition to being available in groceries, you can find Truffle Salt at your local cooking shops as well. Again, it is often a more expensive option, so be sure to do your research before purchasing it. You don't want to purchase a container of this type of salt that has been sitting on the shelf for months on end, only to find out that you don't like it after all.
This is why buying a container of Truffle Salt, which will have been prepared using the natural variety, is the best way to go. It won't cost as much, and you won't have to deal with having to return it. However, you should be aware that this type of salt will be much more difficult to use in a pinch, and so you'll want to make sure that you learn how to use it properly.
The only way to truly know what is Truffle Salt, and what isn't, is to make a trip to your local culinary shop. However, if you don't know anything about it, you should try to get a recommendation from someone who knows what they're doing. Truffle Salt can be a very hard ingredient to describe in words, so keep a few tips in mind when trying to differentiate between natural and artificial truffles.
While the natural Truffle Salt should be made from 100% genuine Truffles, the artificial Truffle Salt is made from safflower, rice, and wheat and sometimes wheat germ. The cheaper brands tend to be a bit less flavorful, so the synthetic varieties are better in this aspect. While it might be tempting to get a small container of nature and get a larger container of synthetic, it is a lot cheaper to buy the smaller one. Buy as little as possible, to save money!
The first way to tell if the Truffle Salt is authentic is to make sure that the label is printed in the official type of truffle. A label that is made from white truffles is typically the real thing, while ones made from black truffles are synthetic. not only less flavorful but also make the world a lot less interesting.
