There are a few things a cook can do to make sure that truffle butter tastes good and stays fresh. The quality of the truffles and the butter have a great influence on the taste of the finished truffle butter, so only high-quality ingredients should be used. The butter should be fluffed before the truffle is added to it so that the flavor can be spread throughout.
The first step in making truffle butter is determining what type of truffles to use. Fresh truffles can be purchased in many parts of the world, but they can be very expensive. Either white or black truffles can be used in a truffle butter, and each will give the butter a slightly different flavor. Alternatively, truffle oil can be used to give butter the flavor of truffles, making this type of butter much less expensive to make.
Any type of butter can be used to make truffle butter. Many cooks use regular, store-bought butter as the base for this dish. Either salted or unsalted butter can be used, though many cooks prefer to use unsalted butter so that the saltiness can be carefully controlled. It is also possible to create homemade butter by placing cream in a food processor and blending it until the butter solids and buttermilk separate. Homemade butter will often give truffle butter a better flavor, but it can be a little more time consuming to make.
Whether a cook uses store-bought or homemade butter, one of the most important things to do when making truffle butter is to fluff the butter with a mixer. If the butter is solid, the flavor of the truffles cannot be infused into it. Once the butter is light and fluffy, truffle oil or fresh truffle can be mixed with it. If fresh truffle is being used, it should be shaved into small, thin pieces so that it is incorporated throughout the butter. When adding truffles or truffle oil to butter, the butter should be tasted frequently so that the strength of the truffle flavor can be adjusted to the taste of the cook.
After the truffles and butter have been thoroughly mixed together, the butter can be wrapped and allowed to set. Wax paper works well when wrapping truffle butter because it does not stick to the butter. If the butter is going to be used right away, it can be kept in the refrigerator, otherwise it should be stored in the freezer and allowed to soften just before it is used.
