Food prediction for the upcoming year

I predict that the food world is going to turn against white truffle oil this year.

The main reason is that white truffle oil has a dirty little secret to it that more and more people are finding out. Of course if it has fooled the best noses for this long, perhaps it is time to recognize that the stuff represents one of the very few times when the artificial flavors actually get it completely right. In fact, they got it so right that people are complaining that the alba truffles of Piedmont are "not as strong as they used to be." Perhaps they really aren't as strong as they once were, but my guess is that our noses have gotten spoiled by the oil.

Since the aroma is correct, and really adds to food, I say, why not? I am only a purist when there is a qualitative difference. If the artificial really is as good and can be used without any compromise of quality, then I am all for it. White truffles (the Piedmont ones) are rare and priced accordingly. If more people can experience this great aroma, all the better.

The problem will be in overuse. I have already had the experience of being in a restaurant and being suffocated in the aroma of white truffle oil from a pizza two or three tables down. Of course that is the grown-up version of drowning in chocolate, so I really couldn't complain, but if it gets to a point where all one can smell in a restaurant is white truffle oil, I think diners will get turned off to the whole thing. White truffle is like Vanilla, in that we think we can't get enough of it, until we get to where we don't want the slightest whiff of it, and have to take a break from it. I already heard one food writer call it "ketchup of the foodies."

Another problem is that once more and more people learn the dirty little secret of the stuff, there is no way that they will pay $12 for a tiny bottle. Already Trader Joe's is selling larger bottles for $8. I predict that it will be down to $4. Of course a little goes a long way, so I never really had a problem paying $12 for the little bottle that wasn't exactly what it claimed to be (the labelling was always rather vague as to what was in it. If you knew about the nature of the volatile compounds that give truffles their aroma, you had to know that this was not really oil that had white truffles steeped in it. If you had worked in a food lab, you even knew how it was made). Of course, when it is down to $4, most people will be completely sick of it and it will be quite fashionable to sniff at the stuff with a look of disdain.

Too bad, as it really is a pleasant addition to food when used sparingly and infrequently. In many ways the manufacturers were doing us a favor in pricing it so high. One did not waste a precious commodity like that, but as it gets cheap, it will be slathered on so that all one tastes is white truffle. Oh well, as I said, drowning in chocolate...