Holiday Features: da Rosario
Check out da Rosario’s holiday features in Plenty magazine, Luxury Las Vegas magazine, and on AOL’s Luxist.com.
Holiday Flavors: da Rosario’s USDA 100% Organic Acacia Honey with White Truffles
da Rosario introduces USDA 100% Organic Acacia Honey with White Truffles to retailers across the country, just in time for the holiday season. Our truffled honey is a simple but unique new find for food lovers, and offers an easy way to add elegance to holiday entertaining. Try it glazed over a roasted pork loin, or drizzled over Parmigiano-Reggiano and pears – you'll find the earthy sweetness complements a variety of savory and sweet flavors.
a da Rosario family favorite – Spoon the golden truffled honey over vanilla ice cream for an original take on a classic dessert.
Rosario Safina on "Food Talk with Mike Colameco"
Click here to hear da Rosario's founder, Rosario Safina, talk truffles with culinary expert Mike Colameco on WOR Radio.
http://www.wor710.com/topic/play_window.php?audioType=Episode&audioId=3025945
http://www.wor710.com/topic/play_window.php?audioType=Episode&audioId=3025945
da Rosario Introduces USDA Organic Savory Truffle Seasonings
daRosario is excited to introduce USDA Organic Savory Truffle Seasonings, made with 100% organic truffle flavoring and pieces of truffle harvested from Italy’s only organic land in Umbria. Offering an instant upgrade for the kitchen and table, the seasonings can be used to infuse luxurious flavor into a variety of foods like mashed potatoes, salads, grilled cheese, and roast chicken. The seasonings are available with both black and white truffles.
To bring the pure flavor of these savory truffle seasonings to your home, try:
Truffled Poached Eggs: Make two poached egg, place in bowl and add a pinch of Black Truffle Savory Seasonings and cover for one minute, then serve.
Baked Truffled Potato: Bake the potato, and fork-split open (crosswise). Add 1/2 tablespoon of butter and a pinch of White Truffle Savory Seasoning. Close potato and serve.
Grilled NY Strip Steak: Grill a steak to medium, place on a plate and sprinkle with Black Truffle Savory Seasonings. Then tilt the plate to let the juices run to one corner, and use a teaspoon to scoop up the juices and pour over the top of the steak, helping the truffle salt melt into the meat.
To bring the pure flavor of these savory truffle seasonings to your home, try:
Truffled Poached Eggs: Make two poached egg, place in bowl and add a pinch of Black Truffle Savory Seasonings and cover for one minute, then serve.
Baked Truffled Potato: Bake the potato, and fork-split open (crosswise). Add 1/2 tablespoon of butter and a pinch of White Truffle Savory Seasoning. Close potato and serve.
Grilled NY Strip Steak: Grill a steak to medium, place on a plate and sprinkle with Black Truffle Savory Seasonings. Then tilt the plate to let the juices run to one corner, and use a teaspoon to scoop up the juices and pour over the top of the steak, helping the truffle salt melt into the meat.
ForbesLife Find of the Day: da Rosario
Da Rosario’s Organic Truffle Oil Gift Set was just featured on Forbes.com as the “ForbesLife Find of the Day.”
Click here for the full story: http://blogs.forbes.com/findoftheday/2008/08/post.html
The Birth of True Truffle Oil
Check out the da Rosario Organics in the May/June 2008 issue of La Cucina Italiana Magazine.
See what Nancy Dacey wrote about da Rosario organic oils in Westchester County Business Journal: http://www.westfairinc.com/Dish/
Truffle Aroma – The Truth at Last
By Dr. Sandro Silveri Agriculturalist & Mycologist
Taxonomic classification of truffles: ( Eriksson O. E. , et al. )
Division : Ascomycota
Class : Pezizomycetes
Order: Pezizales
Family : Tuberaceae
Kind: Tuber
“Tartuffe”, Molière’s comedy on stage in 1664 for the first time, is a satire against hypocrisy.
By describing the protagonist’s perversions, the author wants to criticise hypocrisy and the fanatic morality of the influent people of the royal court, which was centred on religious practices and faith.
This satire attracted fierce criticism and Molière defended himself saying that he only wanted to attack false devotion. Only in 1669 the king allowed the comedy to be put on stage with the title of “Le Tartuffe ou L'imposteur”.
In ancient French language the name Tartuffe meant both truffle and a dishonest person. The child of a poor family, the protagonist of the comedy was a dishonest man who used hypocrisy to reach his goals, being deprived of economic means.
As the author wrote: having few means and a lot of ambitions, being deprived of all the gifts that were necessary to meet his requirements honestly and being resolved to do that at any cost, he chose hypocrisy (“Lettre sur la comédie de l'Imposteur”). The scholar Giovanni Macchia wrote: The Tartuffes can be found in those societies that are ready to accept them.
Today we could rewrite Molière’s comedy with a new protagonist “the false truffle aroma”, but with a difference, hypocrisy is not its choice, and Giovanni Macchia’s statement about society is still applicable.
I was born and brought up in a rural society where I had the chance to fill my nostrils with the true smell of truffles that came from the ground, satisfy may taste with just-harvested truffles and admire the work of dogs when they looked for truffles and found them from underground. Unfortunately, only few people had this chance. Many young people do not know and will never know what the true smell of truffle is like, something very different from the stuff that industrialisation and technology have developed and applied to a variety of foods.
Around the mid-seventies, truffle gatherers and a number of restaurant owners discovered by chance that some foods have a special characteristic: if they are stored in a closed environment together with some kinds of fruits, they absorb the smell and taste of the latter. Some people understood that this phenomenon may be turned into a profitable business and started its exploitation.
This secret was unveiled soon, however, and food transformers and a number of chemists became interested in this phenomenon. It was in the early eighties and what used to be a precious asset of agriculture, a source of income for rural populations and an edible satisfaction for the rest of population, became interesting also for chemical researchers and businessmen involved in the production of food seasonings and aromas.
What consumers appreciate in truffle is its smell, more than its taste. Dogs can find it from underground because of its smell, a combination of aromatic substances that arise during growth and that are released from the fruit only when it is ripe.
Although our era is characterized by remarkable scientific revolution in all sectors, when we speak of truffles we may still use the expression “truffle, an unknown fruit". Leaving aside the reasons why several aspects are still unknown, we can state that one of them is the aromatic characterization of the various species. We know that there are several aromatic components contributing to the typical smell and taste of each species, that the same molecules may be present in different species and/or may prevail over the others, but unfortunately we do not have a complete, final knowledge of the matter.
Among the molecules present and/or prevailing in different Tuber species, the most typical one is a hydrocarbon, especially available in white truffles, which attracts most attention because of the profitability of this business and of the economic interest that pushes men to find that “something” that may release them from the dependency on nature and of the amount, now quite limited, of natural produce.
In a race for commercial deals, it is imperative to work out a mixture and/or identify one or more molecules that reproduce the smell of white truffle.
No one is willing to use true truffle, because it is too costly and too limited in quantity. Everyone tries to find something reproducing the aroma of truffle without using true fruits or using them in small quantities, so that production is not limited and profits may go higher. No matter if this means cheating consumers and even worse if public health may be endangered. On the other side, this is not the first cheat to consumers nor the first time that foods are prepared with unhealthy ingredients.
Business interest is not limited to producers and/or entrepreneurs, but it involves researchers and chemists, who in most cases get interesting gains from their findings while staying in strict incognito for a pretty long period of time, although those laboratory findings are far away from any idea of truffle smell.
All this happened up to the mid-eighties, until researches had to share their knowledge with aroma processing industries which in the meantime had grown commercially and conquered the market little by little.
I have been involved in truffles for thirty years now, covering any aspects from species identification and study, to micorization, truffle cultivation, processing techniques and technologies and study of new products and applications, always with a scientific approach.
In the mid-eighties I demonstrated that natural products could be obtained by exploiting the extreme instability of aromatic molecules characterizing the most important Tuber species, and by using the absorbing capability of different foods and/or raw materials, especially if they contain lipids and amino acids. Driven by the boldness of young age and by a spirit of competitiveness, I pioneered the formulation of a lyposoluble aromatic basis of synthetic origin, that resembled the smell and taste of white truffle quite closely. This was certainly the best formula ever worked out, especially if used not in a too high concentration. What was going to be a challenge to me, was also– and still is – a source of inestimable and unlimited income for others.
Several people started reproducing the taste of white truffle in laboratory and add it to any food to confer them the truffle aroma. I was astonished when seasoning manufacturers, asked whether their product was black or white truffle aroma, answered “it’s truffle aroma”, showing great superficiality and deep ignorance. This was another challenge to me as a young man. So, in a relatively short time I worked out a lyposoluble aromatic mixture that tasted laboratory-made black truffle to please all those who were already applying the first laboratory finding.
Time went by and the use of laboratory-processed stuff to season foods of any kind, where true truffle was used in a limited if not null quantity, was spreading and concentrations were steadily increasing, which worsened the taste and health of food. Now all truffle-aromatized foods have the same terrifying stink of hydrocarbon and sulfur-based substances. When these foods are consumed, they provoke a sense of vomit – obviously depending on the individual sensitivity and the quantity of food swallowed – which is natural due to the characteristics of molecules and their low digestibility.
No one can now afford to say that the substances used to aromatize vegetable oil seasonings and several other foods have a natural origin or come from vegetable or animal raw materials without saying something hypocrite or mischievous.
I am ready to demonstrate the non-authenticity of truffle aroma, not to mention the non-conformity of labels that can range from mischievous publicity, to cheat or fraud.
The aromatic composition of truffle is still mysterious because it is made up of a mixture of various substances such as proteins, amino acids, sulfured compounds and many other things. Besides, this subject is little studied due to its complexity and the fact that no industrial company has ever invested in R&D and there are few researchers and/or universities that are interested in it. In addition, companies have been involved for twenty-five years in the most characterizing compound of the aromatic fraction of truffle, that we find in all Tuber species but especially in white truffle (Tuber magnatum Pico) and precisely Bis(methylthio)methane
(CH3SCH2SCH3), synonyms: Dimethylthiomethane , Formaldehyde dimethyl mercaptal.
It is also true that truffle contains the molecule of Bis(methylthio)methane, dimetilsulphide
(CH3 – S - CH3) and several other molecules, but these are mixed with proteins, amino acids and many more things of natural origin that confer on truffle that special, unmistakable smell and taste. This is not true when the same molecules, obtained with a wide range of different systems, are mixed with other substances to try and reproduce our precious underground mushroom.
Time and glory go by, only the eternal things that rest in nature and in human beings remain. Recently I have come back to my first research finding which allowed me to fix that unstable and volatile substance that had to enrich foods with that true truffle aroma, although only in smell.
To produce a lyposoluble white and black truffle aroma distinctively with no need of chemical processes and/or using substances other than truffles is no longer impossible. I have developed a process and system that can make the aromatic fraction of truffle quite stable, especially that portion of the aromatic fraction that is extremely volatile.
I have managed to recover truffle smell and taste quite totally and also to diversify their concentration. Obviously, production is not unlimited because it depends on the availability of mushrooms – yes, let’s say mushrooms because I can get the same result with boletus mushrooms too.
This important chance I have given to a farm in Umbria, which has worked for years under a controlled regime of organic agriculture and where I have applied the production of lyposoluble aromatic substances that taste of white truffle (Tuber magnatum Pico), black truffle (Tuber melanosporum Vitt), boletus mushrooms (Boletus edulis and its group) and that is certified as organic agriculture produce according to EC rule 2092/91 and NOP-USDA ORGANIC .
The time has come to make any possible effort to increase the cultivation of mushrooms, especially truffles, so that foods can not only smell of, but bear the aromatic fraction of natural truffle. However, truffles must be gathered from the ground correctly, with the help of dogs and not in an indiscriminate way, so that species can reproduce themselves and our future generations can inherit natural products and not only the worst things that man can obtain in laboratory.
Speaking of truffles may go on infinitely. So, let’s to conclude this short information with a promise: I will come back to it shortly.
By describing the protagonist’s perversions, the author wants to criticise hypocrisy and the fanatic morality of the influent people of the royal court, which was centred on religious practices and faith.
This satire attracted fierce criticism and Molière defended himself saying that he only wanted to attack false devotion. Only in 1669 the king allowed the comedy to be put on stage with the title of “Le Tartuffe ou L'imposteur”.
In ancient French language the name Tartuffe meant both truffle and a dishonest person. The child of a poor family, the protagonist of the comedy was a dishonest man who used hypocrisy to reach his goals, being deprived of economic means.
As the author wrote: having few means and a lot of ambitions, being deprived of all the gifts that were necessary to meet his requirements honestly and being resolved to do that at any cost, he chose hypocrisy (“Lettre sur la comédie de l'Imposteur”). The scholar Giovanni Macchia wrote: The Tartuffes can be found in those societies that are ready to accept them.
Today we could rewrite Molière’s comedy with a new protagonist “the false truffle aroma”, but with a difference, hypocrisy is not its choice, and Giovanni Macchia’s statement about society is still applicable.
I was born and brought up in a rural society where I had the chance to fill my nostrils with the true smell of truffles that came from the ground, satisfy may taste with just-harvested truffles and admire the work of dogs when they looked for truffles and found them from underground. Unfortunately, only few people had this chance. Many young people do not know and will never know what the true smell of truffle is like, something very different from the stuff that industrialisation and technology have developed and applied to a variety of foods.
Around the mid-seventies, truffle gatherers and a number of restaurant owners discovered by chance that some foods have a special characteristic: if they are stored in a closed environment together with some kinds of fruits, they absorb the smell and taste of the latter. Some people understood that this phenomenon may be turned into a profitable business and started its exploitation.
This secret was unveiled soon, however, and food transformers and a number of chemists became interested in this phenomenon. It was in the early eighties and what used to be a precious asset of agriculture, a source of income for rural populations and an edible satisfaction for the rest of population, became interesting also for chemical researchers and businessmen involved in the production of food seasonings and aromas.
What consumers appreciate in truffle is its smell, more than its taste. Dogs can find it from underground because of its smell, a combination of aromatic substances that arise during growth and that are released from the fruit only when it is ripe.
Although our era is characterized by remarkable scientific revolution in all sectors, when we speak of truffles we may still use the expression “truffle, an unknown fruit". Leaving aside the reasons why several aspects are still unknown, we can state that one of them is the aromatic characterization of the various species. We know that there are several aromatic components contributing to the typical smell and taste of each species, that the same molecules may be present in different species and/or may prevail over the others, but unfortunately we do not have a complete, final knowledge of the matter.
Among the molecules present and/or prevailing in different Tuber species, the most typical one is a hydrocarbon, especially available in white truffles, which attracts most attention because of the profitability of this business and of the economic interest that pushes men to find that “something” that may release them from the dependency on nature and of the amount, now quite limited, of natural produce.
In a race for commercial deals, it is imperative to work out a mixture and/or identify one or more molecules that reproduce the smell of white truffle.
No one is willing to use true truffle, because it is too costly and too limited in quantity. Everyone tries to find something reproducing the aroma of truffle without using true fruits or using them in small quantities, so that production is not limited and profits may go higher. No matter if this means cheating consumers and even worse if public health may be endangered. On the other side, this is not the first cheat to consumers nor the first time that foods are prepared with unhealthy ingredients.
Business interest is not limited to producers and/or entrepreneurs, but it involves researchers and chemists, who in most cases get interesting gains from their findings while staying in strict incognito for a pretty long period of time, although those laboratory findings are far away from any idea of truffle smell.
All this happened up to the mid-eighties, until researches had to share their knowledge with aroma processing industries which in the meantime had grown commercially and conquered the market little by little.
I have been involved in truffles for thirty years now, covering any aspects from species identification and study, to micorization, truffle cultivation, processing techniques and technologies and study of new products and applications, always with a scientific approach.
In the mid-eighties I demonstrated that natural products could be obtained by exploiting the extreme instability of aromatic molecules characterizing the most important Tuber species, and by using the absorbing capability of different foods and/or raw materials, especially if they contain lipids and amino acids. Driven by the boldness of young age and by a spirit of competitiveness, I pioneered the formulation of a lyposoluble aromatic basis of synthetic origin, that resembled the smell and taste of white truffle quite closely. This was certainly the best formula ever worked out, especially if used not in a too high concentration. What was going to be a challenge to me, was also– and still is – a source of inestimable and unlimited income for others.
Several people started reproducing the taste of white truffle in laboratory and add it to any food to confer them the truffle aroma. I was astonished when seasoning manufacturers, asked whether their product was black or white truffle aroma, answered “it’s truffle aroma”, showing great superficiality and deep ignorance. This was another challenge to me as a young man. So, in a relatively short time I worked out a lyposoluble aromatic mixture that tasted laboratory-made black truffle to please all those who were already applying the first laboratory finding.
Time went by and the use of laboratory-processed stuff to season foods of any kind, where true truffle was used in a limited if not null quantity, was spreading and concentrations were steadily increasing, which worsened the taste and health of food. Now all truffle-aromatized foods have the same terrifying stink of hydrocarbon and sulfur-based substances. When these foods are consumed, they provoke a sense of vomit – obviously depending on the individual sensitivity and the quantity of food swallowed – which is natural due to the characteristics of molecules and their low digestibility.
No one can now afford to say that the substances used to aromatize vegetable oil seasonings and several other foods have a natural origin or come from vegetable or animal raw materials without saying something hypocrite or mischievous.
I am ready to demonstrate the non-authenticity of truffle aroma, not to mention the non-conformity of labels that can range from mischievous publicity, to cheat or fraud.
The aromatic composition of truffle is still mysterious because it is made up of a mixture of various substances such as proteins, amino acids, sulfured compounds and many other things. Besides, this subject is little studied due to its complexity and the fact that no industrial company has ever invested in R&D and there are few researchers and/or universities that are interested in it. In addition, companies have been involved for twenty-five years in the most characterizing compound of the aromatic fraction of truffle, that we find in all Tuber species but especially in white truffle (Tuber magnatum Pico) and precisely Bis(methylthio)methane
(CH3SCH2SCH3), synonyms: Dimethylthiomethane , Formaldehyde dimethyl mercaptal.
It is also true that truffle contains the molecule of Bis(methylthio)methane, dimetilsulphide
(CH3 – S - CH3) and several other molecules, but these are mixed with proteins, amino acids and many more things of natural origin that confer on truffle that special, unmistakable smell and taste. This is not true when the same molecules, obtained with a wide range of different systems, are mixed with other substances to try and reproduce our precious underground mushroom.
Time and glory go by, only the eternal things that rest in nature and in human beings remain. Recently I have come back to my first research finding which allowed me to fix that unstable and volatile substance that had to enrich foods with that true truffle aroma, although only in smell.
To produce a lyposoluble white and black truffle aroma distinctively with no need of chemical processes and/or using substances other than truffles is no longer impossible. I have developed a process and system that can make the aromatic fraction of truffle quite stable, especially that portion of the aromatic fraction that is extremely volatile.
I have managed to recover truffle smell and taste quite totally and also to diversify their concentration. Obviously, production is not unlimited because it depends on the availability of mushrooms – yes, let’s say mushrooms because I can get the same result with boletus mushrooms too.
This important chance I have given to a farm in Umbria, which has worked for years under a controlled regime of organic agriculture and where I have applied the production of lyposoluble aromatic substances that taste of white truffle (Tuber magnatum Pico), black truffle (Tuber melanosporum Vitt), boletus mushrooms (Boletus edulis and its group) and that is certified as organic agriculture produce according to EC rule 2092/91 and NOP-USDA ORGANIC .
The time has come to make any possible effort to increase the cultivation of mushrooms, especially truffles, so that foods can not only smell of, but bear the aromatic fraction of natural truffle. However, truffles must be gathered from the ground correctly, with the help of dogs and not in an indiscriminate way, so that species can reproduce themselves and our future generations can inherit natural products and not only the worst things that man can obtain in laboratory.
Speaking of truffles may go on infinitely. So, let’s to conclude this short information with a promise: I will come back to it shortly.
da Rosario Organics at BioFach 2008
Some 46,500 trade visitors (2007:45,469*) streamed into the Exhibition Centre Nuremberg from 21-24 February to source information about the world market for organic products and natural personal care. The internationality of the attendance rose by 4 points to 37 %. The trade visitors came from about 120 countries: after Germany mainly from Austria, Poland, the Netherlands, Italy, France, and the U.S. Stricter admission requirements and their intensive control ensured another increase in the quality of attendance. The visitors were impressed by the rich, enjoyable and innovative products of the 2,764 exhibitors (2007: 2,547*). A good two thirds of them came from abroad. “Where organic people meet! The entire industry – national and international – visited Nürnberg for four days. Highly satisfied exhibitors and visitors, an inspiring and dynamic industry. BioFach and Vivaness were extremely successful again in 2008,” says Claus Rättich, Member of the Management Board of NürnbergMesse.
Rosario Safina of da Rosario Organics attended the event and was proud to be the only one presenting Organic Truffle Products.
“The oil was a real success,” he explains, “and everybody is looking forward to trying the organic truffle butter, organic truffle homey and organic truffle salt that I will introduce on the market at the end of March.”
To cook or not to cook truffles
From Rosario Safina’s book Truffles, Ultimate Luxury Everyday Pleasure
Fresh white truffles should never be cooked. They should be warmed, though; gentle heat brings out their intoxicating fragrance, but too much will destroy it. That is why white truffles are usually shaved or grated over a plate of warm pasta, or another dish, after it is set in front of the diner – the better to swoon over them.
Black winter truffles can be served raw, sliced paper-thin and incorporated into saldas, for example, but their flavor is usually enhanced when they are warmed or cooked. Long cooking is not generally advised, however, because it will mute their perfume.
Although summer truffles are sometimes cooked, they are their best raw or just warmed. And because they don’t have the overpowering fragrance of white or black truffles, they really should be used in generous amounts. Some chefs boost the flavor of summer truffle dishes by adding truffle juice or garnishing them with truffle oil. Summer truffles are especially good in salads, sliced paper-thin in a shower over dressed greens and tossed with them so they absorb some of the vinaigrette.
Truffles have a remarkable affinity for a wide variety of foods, including some of the most humble. Eggs are one of the most notable, and both black and white truffles appear frequently as their companions. Perhaps because they grow underground, thy pair well with root vegetables, from lowly parsnip to potatoes – potatoes and truffles are one of the most satisfying pairings of all. But veal, scallops, and lobsters, as do certain cheeses – Parmesan and Taleggio, for example – which echo the pungent, earthy flavor.
Although Colette preferred her truffles whole, in noble splendor, even she agreed that they benefited from some fat: “a score or so of smallish strips of bacon, fat, but not too fat, which will give body to the stock (in which the truffles cook).”
Fat, from bacon to cream or butter to foie gras, always brings out the flavor of other ingredients. Grated or sliced black truffles simmered briefly in heavy cream make a delicious sauce, and whole black truffles can be wrapped in pork belly or pancetta before they are baked or roasted. Classic sauce perigueux often contains foie gras in addition to black truffles that give it its name.
Fresh white truffles should never be cooked. They should be warmed, though; gentle heat brings out their intoxicating fragrance, but too much will destroy it. That is why white truffles are usually shaved or grated over a plate of warm pasta, or another dish, after it is set in front of the diner – the better to swoon over them.
Black winter truffles can be served raw, sliced paper-thin and incorporated into saldas, for example, but their flavor is usually enhanced when they are warmed or cooked. Long cooking is not generally advised, however, because it will mute their perfume.
Although summer truffles are sometimes cooked, they are their best raw or just warmed. And because they don’t have the overpowering fragrance of white or black truffles, they really should be used in generous amounts. Some chefs boost the flavor of summer truffle dishes by adding truffle juice or garnishing them with truffle oil. Summer truffles are especially good in salads, sliced paper-thin in a shower over dressed greens and tossed with them so they absorb some of the vinaigrette.
Truffles have a remarkable affinity for a wide variety of foods, including some of the most humble. Eggs are one of the most notable, and both black and white truffles appear frequently as their companions. Perhaps because they grow underground, thy pair well with root vegetables, from lowly parsnip to potatoes – potatoes and truffles are one of the most satisfying pairings of all. But veal, scallops, and lobsters, as do certain cheeses – Parmesan and Taleggio, for example – which echo the pungent, earthy flavor.
Although Colette preferred her truffles whole, in noble splendor, even she agreed that they benefited from some fat: “a score or so of smallish strips of bacon, fat, but not too fat, which will give body to the stock (in which the truffles cook).”
Fat, from bacon to cream or butter to foie gras, always brings out the flavor of other ingredients. Grated or sliced black truffles simmered briefly in heavy cream make a delicious sauce, and whole black truffles can be wrapped in pork belly or pancetta before they are baked or roasted. Classic sauce perigueux often contains foie gras in addition to black truffles that give it its name.
Bresaola with Black Truffle Oil
Recipe from Rosario Safina’s book Truffles, Ultimate Luxury Everyday Pleasure
Ingredients:
6 to 8 ounces thinly sliced bresaola
1 to 1 1/2 tablespoons da rosario organic black truffle oil
fleur du sel or other coarse salt (optional)
coarsely ground black pepper
2 tablespoons minced flat-leaf parsley
Arrange the bresaola “flower petal” fashion, overlapping the slices slightly in the center as necessary, on 4 salad plates. Drizzle with the truffle oil, and sprinkle with a little fleur de sel, if using. Season with coarse black pepper, garnish with the parsley, and serve at once.
Serves 4
Sommelier Wine Suggestion: Calera “Central Coast” Pinot Noir 1996, California
Note: Look for bresaola in specialty Italian and other gourmet markets. Store it well-wrapped in the refrigerator and plan to use within a day. Like other cured meats, bresaola goes well with truffles.
Land of Organic Truffles
In a land with a bent for agriculture, immersed in the beautiful landscape of Umbrian valleys, there is a farm called "Profumi Umbri". The company, which is only run by family members, turned to organic agriculture about 10 years ago.
Having accrued a long experience in the traditional farming business with leading industrial groups, the owners realized that the only way to recover a correct balance between production and processing requirements was to devote to organic agriculture. This was also an ethical decision, because profits cannot be the only focus of business, but a company must also care for product quality and reliability.
The land occupied by the farm was especially suitable, because there are natural ditches all around its perimeter that shield it from any contamination from adjacent lands.
Over the years, the company has diversified production with olive trees and truffles on one of the largest farming lands in Umbria. Besides cultivation methods, the company pays special attention to harvest and process of farming products. Olives are gathered manually and squeezed in 24 hours. Truffles are gathered only in restricted periods of the year, according to the regional regulation and only with the help of dogs. Only mature mushroom and truffle bodies are harvested without damaging the rest of the cultivation, which is a wealth for the company.
The experience accrued has allowed the farm to win market shares with high-quality products and especially with seasonings that are flavored with white and black truffles and boletus mushrooms.
Product labels describe the composition of seasonings, made with natural products such as 100% pure olive oil and natural aromas from organic agriculture.
Based on its long experience, the farm can obtain natural seasonings without the use of synthetic aromas, so that truffles, an outstanding produce of the Umbria region, can be enhanced by pure olive oil.
This is the wonderful company that collaborates with Rosario Safina, the country’s foremost expert on truffles, in the introduction of the one and only USDA-certified truffle oil in the United States.
Read all about it: da Rosario USDA 100% Organic Truffle Oil in the New York Times!
Renowned food writer Florence Fabricant has spoken in the Food Section of the New York Times:
Food Stuff
By FLORENCE FABRICANT
Published: January 9, 2008 The New York Times
Oils That Have Known a Truffle
For the last few years there’s been a deluge of seasoning oils tricked up with chemicals and called white truffle oil. But now there is a pleasant, more authentic alternative.
Rosario Safina, who has been in the truffle business for many years, has developed a white truffle oil using delicate organic Italian extra virgin olive oil with bits of white truffle and extracted essences of truffle, called “truffle flavor” on the label. There’s a whiff of honest white truffle aroma and a subtle flavor of truffles. “I could make it stronger,” Mr. Safina said. “It would just take more truffles and much more money.”
Da Rosario organic white truffle oil is $26.99 for eight ounces from Fresh Direct; by the end of the month it will be sold in some fancy food shops, including Gourmet Garage and Citarella. There is also quite a fine Da Rosario black truffle oil, $19.99 for eight ounces at Fresh Direct.
Thank you Florence!
ANNOUNCING: The First and Only USDA-100% Certified 100% Organic Truffle Oil
You read it right: daRosario Truffle Oil is now 100% USDA Certified Organic. And it's the only USDA-certified organic truffle oil on the market. Check out our new label here!
Did you know most truffle oils are made of synthetic (read: chemical) ingredients? And any other truffle oil claiming to be "organic" is not, according to the USDA?
Then read the press release below, and get in touch with me if you want to know more!
**FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE**
RENOWNED TRUFFLE EXPERT ROSARIO SAFINA LAUNCHES FIRST USDA-CERTIFED ORGANIC WHITE TRUFFLE OLIVE OIL
New York, January 4, 2008 – For the first time ever, a USDA-certified organic white truffle olive oil will be available in restaurants and retail stores, it was announced today by Rosario Safina, President, da Rosario.
“Truffle oil is an increasingly popular ingredient on restaurant menus, but it’s been far from natural. da Rosario USDA-100% Certified Organic White Truffle Olive Oil is the only one made with 100% certified organic ingredients. Today’s consumer is equally interested in sophisticated and healthy products , and we bring the best of both worlds to them,” he said.
The celebrated, delicate yet powerful flavor of the white truffle has long been a staple of pricier, exclusive restaurants in New York and LA. But as cooking and celebrity chefs have gone more natural and organic, consumer desires have followed the same route. Now, the magical, distinctive flavor of truffles is 100% natural and certified organic by the USDA – emblematic of the overall green trend that’s taken hold of the country.
“I believe that truffle oil isn’t just for connoisseurs anymore. Look at how tastes for basics like extra virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegars have evolved into high-end products over the years. We’re making the same thing happen with truffles – organically,” Mr. Safina said.
Each bottle of da Rosario USDA-Certified Organic White Truffle Oil features organic Italian white truffle pieces in mild organic extra virgin olive oil with 100% real organic Italian white truffle flavor – not found in any other truffle oils, and something consumers have never experienced before – imparts a genuine, multi-dimensional and natural white truffle taste that combines easily in dishes, and is easy to digest. “It’s impressive like fresh white truffles, but not overpowering, and leaves no bitter aftertaste on the palate when prepared in a dish, just the flavor of real fresh white truffles,” says Mr. Safina
The bottle’s fresh, modern and appealing label demystifies a traditional European delicacy, and its pricing makes it highly accessible to everyone. The 8-ounce Organic White Truffle Oil will retail for $45, Organic Black Truffle Oil will retail for $32, and the Organic Porcini Oil for $25. These reasonable price points are due to the fact that Mr. Safina’s oils are produced in the USA from imported certified organic Italian ingredients. This saves the costs of importing the finished product for a higher retail price, while ensuring the same high quality.
In addition to fine natural foods, gourmet and specialty stores and sites, da Rosario USDA-100% Certified Organic Oils will also be available at upscale supermarket retailers.
Rosario Safina is one the country’s foremost expert on truffles and has introduced numerous truffle and mushroom products to the U.S. For over 20 years, he and his companies have supplied the most renowned chefs and restaurants with the finest ingredients like truffles, caviar, wild mushrooms, prosciutto and smoked salmon. In 2001, he published the first domestic book on truffles, Truffles: Ultimate Luxury, Everyday Pleasure. da Rosario is his latest effort to further popularize the use of truffles in everyday cuisine.
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Contact Sales: Paroli Llc. 212.226.8572 darosario@nyc.rr.com
Contact Press: Natasha Lardera 646.279.1936 darosariopress@gmail.com
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