Two Brand Taste Test: Black Truffle Butter, Je t'aime!

I really do love truffle butter. Then again, I love anything with truffles in it, especially black truffles. Cheeses, oils, salts -- you name it. I once spent my last $100 on a tiny can of truffle parings. Worth every moment of the ensuing poverty. Like white truffles, love the black truffles. I could probably eat styrofoam packing peanuts if they were glazed with black truffle butter. Had my first taste of black truffle as a teenager in France and have never looked back. Must. Have. Truffles.

Since oily things like olive oil and butter carry the flavor further than anything else I can think of, I am fully stocked with truffle oils and butter. The butter I keep frozen so I can have it on hand to dress up any dish I want at the last moment.

Now generally, when I wanted black truffle butter, I'd spring for a tiny tub of the good stuff from D'Artagnan. About 8 bucks for a tiny tub of goodness to spread on a fresh baguette, stir into rice or mashed potatoes, or just let melt over a nice steak. This is about enough for one meal at my house, but it's as close to the real thing as I can get without a trip to France...on my budget.  I do tend to save it for special occasions, like  holidays or when I really need a pick-me-up.

Anyway, last week, as I was trolling through my local Wegman's, ready to grab a pound of regular butter out of the fridge case, the word "truffle" jumped out at me from a little rack of finishing butters. What? Truffle butter? $2.49??? Really?  Wegman's Truffle Finishing Butter. So I bought one, like any good truffle addict would do. Hurrried home, cracked open the little tub, and smeared a bit on a piece of bread. OK, it's not exactly black truffle butter. 

The verdict: it is good. Not quite the same as the Black Truffle Butter from D'Artagnan, which is fabulous, but good enough to have it on hand always so that instead of waiting for a special occasion, I can make a Tuesday night dinner special with it. While the  D'Artagnan product has a short list of good ingredients-(Pure Creamery Butter, Truffles, Truffle Oil (Sunflower Oil, Aroma), Truffle Juice, Soy Sauce.) The Wegman's product has ingredients, while not exactly as high-flown- (Unsalted Butter (Cream, Natural Flavorings), Chablis Wine, Natural Flavor Blend (Salt, Organic Corn Starch, Natural Butter Flavor, Maltodextrin, Soy Lecithin, Xanthan Gum and Sunflower Oil), Truffles, Natural and Artificial Truffle Flavor, Cultured Dextrose, Salt.) but they still make a darn good tasting product.

I'll probably stick to the D'Artagnan product to embellish a nice grass-fed filet on my plate, but when I need to give Tuesday's green beans and mushrooms a jolt, I can reach for the Truffle Finishing Butter from Wegman's and use the whole tub if I want. 

Note: I don't work for either company, they don't pay me for any promotion, and I bought both in my local market.

Black Truffle Butter, je t'aime!

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