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What Is Truffle Butter?

Add a dose of decadence to any recipe with a scoop of this luxe compound butter.

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Truffles are synonymous with decadence in the culinary world. And this is true whether you're talking about the rich chocolate candies or the mushroom-like underground fungus. But either white or black, the latter is arguably one of the most luxurious — and expensive ingredients — you can eat. Fresh truffles are often shaved over foods like pasta, but they can also be used in other mouthwatering ways, like truffle butter.

What's In Truffle Butter?

In order to use every last bit of truffle, the ends and pieces that come from processing whole truffles are often used to make truffle butter. These pieces are blended with softened butter, and sometimes salt or other ingredients, to create a truffle-infused compound butter. Some truffle butter also includes truffle oil made from steeping similar pieces of truffle in oil to reinforce the truffle flavor.

Related:11 Compound Butter Recipes to Easily Elevate Any Meal

Sadly, some manufacturers add artificial truffle flavor into their butter to cut the cost of adding real truffles. This gives the butter a distinct, artificial flavor that can be described as plastic-y and slightly like dirt. To avoid this disappointment, always make sure to read the ingredient list and check for any artificial flavors.

What Does Truffle Butter Taste Like?

Truffles are prized for their earthy, fragrant flavor, and truffle butter blends this with the sweet richness of butter. Truffle butter usually utilizes black summer truffles because they're less expensive, rare, and have an extremely intense flavor. Truffle butter has an extremely rich, mushroomy taste that is bursting with savory, umami notes. It's frequently used to top steak, but can be added to any number of dishes to give them a decadent, savory boost.

How to Make Truffle Butter

If you already have some black truffles that you've mostly used up in other recipes or chunks that have broken off from shaving, it is the perfect time to make truffle butter.

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Start by softening two sticks of unsalted butter. Once the butter is very soft, add it to the bowl of a food processor or stand mixer.

Add in a tablespoon of very finely minced black truffles, more if you like a stronger taste. Optionally, you could also add up to a tablespoon of truffle oil here as well.

Finally, sprinkle in a big pinch of salt and process or mix with the paddle attachment just until everything comes together.

Divide the mixture in half and shape into a loose log shape on top of a large sheet of plastic wrap.

Pull one edge of the wrap over your log shape and press the butter through the plastic into a more precise log shape using a bench scraper or the back of a butter knife.

Once the log is fully formed and the plastic is taut over the butter, roll the log the rest of the way and tie off the ends. Refrigerate until the butter is firm, and then slice into discs as needed.

You can also experiment with adding other flavors such as a teaspoon of minced herbs like rosemary, sage, or thyme. Several cracks of freshly ground black pepper would also be welcome.

How to Use Truffle Butter

Truffle butter is a great ingredient to have when you have truffle tastes without a truffle budget. You can also use truffle butter to reinforce truffle flavor within a dish if you plan to shave fresh truffles on top without spending a ton of money on loads of truffles.

If you like the flavor, try adding truffle butter to recipes that already call for butter as a flavorant, like mashed potatoes or a pan sauce. Truffle butter is also a phenomenal addition to nutty mushroom risotto or pasta. Lean into truffles' earthy flavor and pair it with similarly flavored foods that bring out its nuttiness — like grains, well-browned meat, or woody herbs like rosemary.

Related:30 Recipes for Creamy Mushroom Cravings

For a show-stopping roast chicken, try using truffle butter on and under the skin before roasting to make a centerpiece your family and guests won't be able to stop talking about. Or embrace the flavor by simply spreading a heaping pat on some warm bread with flaky salt and savor all the nuance truffles have to offer.

Make Your Butter Even Better With These Easy And Delicious Compound Butter Recipes

Compound butter is the glorious mixture of butter and flavorful herbs, spices, and more. We love to melt compound butter over grilled meat and roasted vegetables, spread it on crusty bread, and stir it into decadent sauces. Some of our favorite fragrant additions to compound butter include roasted garlic, spicy chiles, and sweet white miso. Try using flavor-fortified butter anywhere you'd use plain butter: add it to baked potatoes, spread it over corn on the cob, toss it with fresh lobster, and smear it on savory breads. Whether you're looking for a simple flavor upgrade or want a way to use up leftover herbs, these compound butter recipes are the perfect way to make the spread extra special.

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Charred Cabbage Salad with Pecan Dukkah and Chile-Lime Butter Photo by Antonis Achilleos / Food Styling by Ruth Blackburn / Prop Styling by Claire Spollen

At Otra in San Francisco, chef Nick Cobarruvias seasons charred cabbage with chile-lime butter, which is mildly spicy from árbol chiles and bright from lime zest. The pecan dukkah adds earthiness from the cumin and pops of citrus from the coriander, plus a lovely nutty flavor and texture from the toasted pecans and sesame seeds.

02 of 19

Entrecôte with Green Olive Tapenade Butter Photo by Greg DuPree / Food Styling by Margaret Monroe Dickey / Prop Styling by Claire Spollen

This recipe offers a simple technique for both a perfectly cooked rib eye and a flavorful compound butter. Packed with pungent anchovies, piquant Dijon mustard, and salty capers, the butter packs a briny punch when melted onto the juicy grilled steaks. You can keep this compound butter in the freezer for up to three months to quickly upgrade grilled steaks, pork chops, or fish fillets over time.

03 of 19

Ehuru and Wildflower Honey Butter Caitlin Bensel

A great way to try a variety of spices is in compound butter; the butter serves as a creamy blank canvas, delivering the diverse flavors in an approachable way that invites you to keep tasting. Here, earthy calabash nutmeg (also known as ehuru) is paired with robust wildflower honey.

04 of 19

Farro Mafaldine with Black Truffle Butter and Mushrooms Photo by Victor Protasio / Food Styling by Rishon Hanners / Prop Styling by Claire Spollen

"The best way to cook with truffles is as simply as possible," says chef Karen Akunowicz, of the northern Italian restaurant Fox & the Knife in Boston. Black truffle paste, available year-round, melts beautifully into the buttery sauce, but when they're in season (November through February), Akunowicz recommends splurging for fresh black truffles and using a rasp grater to get as much truffle goodness as possible into each perfect bite.

05 of 19

Barbecued Oysters with Smoky Uni Butter Photo by Andrew Bui / Food Styling by Max Rappaport

Briny uni and acidic lemon, mixed with smoky paprika and rich butter, combine to make an extraordinary flavored butter to top oysters before roasting.

06 of 19

Garlic-Butter Rib Roast Photo by Jennifer Causey / Food Styling by Margaret Monroe Dickey / Prop Styling by Lydia Pursell

This impressive, flavor-packed rib roast is perfect for a celebration. The secret? A compound butter made with garlic, anchovies, herbs, and shallot. Half of it is slathered all over the roast before it goes into the oven; the other half is rolled up into a log, chilled, and then cut into medallions to serve with each slice of beef.

07 of 19

Coal-Roasted Sweet Potatoes with Maple-Chile Butter Coal-Roasted Sweet Potatoes With Maple-Chile Butter.

Jennifer Causey / Food Styling by Ali Ramee

A whipped compound butter made of sherry vinegar, parsley, Aleppo pepper, and maple syrup adds acidic, earthy, and savory notes to these smoky sweet potatoes. Top with toasted pecans to bring in some needed crunch.

08 of 19

Spaghetti with Cacio e Pepe Butter Eric Wolfinger

The classic Roman dish cacio e pepe is prized for its simplicity. Former F&W culinary director at large Justin Chapple puts a spin on the original with a black pepper and Pecorino Romano compound butter. Just boil the pasta, grate the chilled butter over the top, and dinner is done. Aside from pasta, this compound butter is great on bread or crackers.

09 of 19

Grilled Lobsters with Miso-Chile Butter © Con Poulos

Grilling lobsters at home is easy if you have your fishmonger clean and halve the lobsters for you. For this recipe, Gail Simmons flavors butter with lemon, white miso, and sriracha, then uses it to baste the lobster, reserving some to serve with the finished dish.

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Alligator Pepper and Makrut Lime Butter Caitlin Bensel

This compound butter is a wake-up call to the senses: Lime leaves lend a bright and floral citrus-y accent to the slow-burning sharpness of the pepper.

11 of 19

Sweet Gorgonzola Butter Victor Protasio

Chef Suzanne Tracht makes this rich, indulgent compound butter with Gorgonzola dolce, the milder, sweeter, less acidic form of Gorgonzola piccante. Letting the mixture firm up in the fridge allows you to cut it into clean rounds for the perfect accompaniment to steak.

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Radishes with Seaweed-Matcha Butter © Con Poulos

It's worth finding cultured butter to make 2016 F&W Best New Chefs Jeremiah Stone and Fabian von Hauske's riff on the classic French appetizer of radishes and butter; the slightly tangy and rich butter offsets the matcha nicely.

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Roasted Branzino with Caper Butter Photo by Antonis Achilleos / Food Styling by Chelsea Zimmer / Prop Styling by Thom Driver

Here, chef Steve Corry achieves a crispy skin on the stovetop and then finishes the whole branzino that's stuffed with lemon and rosemary in the oven. He makes an easy compound butter — which melts on the fish to become a sauce — with wild Tunisian mountain capers, although any caper will work.

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Grill-Baked Potatoes with Chive Butter © Marcus Nilsson

These super-easy, indulgent potatoes are based on a recipe Brooklyn butcher Tom Mylan found in a South Dakota centennial cookbook. They're layered with pats of chive and sour cream butter, then wrapped in foil and grilled until soft and delicious.

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Rubbing butter on chicken skin (as well as under it) and letting it sit in the fridge for a few hours is a great way to make it extra crispy, with moist breast meat. For his recipe here, the late chef Floyd Cardoz flavored the butter with cilantro, garlic, mint, chiles, cumin, and lime juice.

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Sour cream or cream cheese may be the usual spread paired with salty smoked salmon, but chef David Tanis thinks softened butter makes a tasty alternative. (Think of ham-and-butter sandwiches.) To give the butter a zippy bite, he stirs in lemon zest and both Dijon and grainy mustards.

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The trick to this amazingly delicious steak by former F&W editor Kay Chun is basting it with garlicky anchovy butter while it roasts.

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This simple, flavor-packed corn, lime, and cheese butter is great on grilled steaks, fish, and chicken, as well as on grilled vegetables.

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Pit master Chris Lilly's beef tenderloin is marinated in a peppery paste made from brown sugar and soy sauce. When it's done on the grill, the meat gets topped with an aromatic compound butter that combines mashed roasted garlic with thyme, rosemary, and oregano.

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What Is A Truffle And Why Is It So Expensive?

© Adobe Stock/larionovao White and black truffles are some of the most costly ingredients in the world. But what exactly are truffles, anyway? And why is the price tag so steep? Get those answers and more in this deep look into the tiny coveted underground mushrooms.

Several years ago I enjoyed a fancy multi-course meal with one standout dish I still dream about: truffle risotto. It was my first experience with truffles (and legit risotto, for that matter), and I savored every last bite. Fast forward to a couple of weeks ago, and I accomplished another culinary goal by cooking with my first-ever black truffle in celebration of the annual Black Truffle Festival. The virtual session taught me how to make the most amazing truffle pasta (more on that later). After indulging in one of the best meals I've ever made at home, I realized I still didn't know much about these delightful truffle mushrooms. And since truffles cost so much, I wanted to know the best way to store them so I wouldn't let any go to waste. Here's what I found out so you'll know what to do if you are lucky enough to get your hands on a fresh truffle.

A truffle (not to be confused with the chocolate treat) is a type of fungi that is found on the roots of trees. Unlike the common mushroom varieties, truffles grow entirely underground on the roots of trees. According to Sabrina Notarnicola, vice president of marketing at Urbani Truffles, they are "primarily found in Italy, they can be found in similar Mediterranean climates around the world." There are several species of truffles but the most common edible varieties are black truffles (Tuber melanosporum) or white truffles (Tuber mangnatum). Europe produces the most valuable truffles (though there are truffle farms in North America and Australia).

What Do Truffles Taste Like?

Unless you've had them, it's hard to describe what truffles taste like. Black truffles feature an earthy aroma and taste. White truffles have a more pungent smell and flavor.

Why Are Truffles So Expensive?

When buying truffles, they can go for hundreds (even thousands!) of dollars per pound. Notarnicola says truffles grow best in moist environments and after a rain, large truffles can appear overnight. So what's the deal with truffle cost? "Truffles have a high price point because nobody has been able to cultivate them," Notarnicola says. "They are only found in the wild and are very seasonal." Technically you can find different varieties of truffles at all times of the year depending on the growing location (i.E. Black summer truffle, black winter truffle, etc.). You'll find white truffles mostly in fall and winter, with their peak season in November and December.

Buy It: Black Summer Truffle ($79, Urbani Truffles)

How to Store Truffles?

So you got a black truffle, but what's the best way to keep it fresh? Notarnicola says truffles (black or white) are best stored refrigerated, individually wrapped in a clean paper towel, and inside of an airtight container. You might see some guides saying to store in rice (the dry rice grains wick the moisture from the truffles), but don't do this unless you are trying to infuse the truffle flavor into the rice. "Truffles are highly perishable, so by the time a truffle reaches a customer, they can expect anywhere from 3 to 7 days of ripeness," Notarnicola says. "Each truffle is different, so this is a variable."

Related: Chili Crisp Is the Chinese Condiment Popping Up at Restaurants and on Grocery Store Shelves Everywhere

How to Use Truffles

Notarnicola says truffles can be served with almost anything. But the interesting thing about truffle mushrooms is that they lose their aroma as they're warmed. White truffle is great sliced raw on top of risotto or steak. Use a truffle shaver ($15, Amazon) to achieve the signature thin cuts. For an easy truffle recipe to get started, you can make the delicious black truffle pasta I mentioned earlier. It's got a simple creamy sauce made with truffle butter and Parmigiano Reggiano cheese that really brings out the truffle's natural flavors.

If you're not ready to shell out the money for a fresh truffle, you can get still get the aroma in popular products such as truffle oil ($23, Amazon), truffle salt ($18, Amazon), or the super trendy truffle hot sauce ($18, Truff). These truffle products use either a small amount of truffle or are infused with a natural essence of truffle to achieve the flavor profile, which keeps the cost low.

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