Things You'll Need:
- Truffles, preferably an assortment
- Hot coffee or iced tea, unsweetened
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Step 1
Start with the simplest of truffles. These are basically just chilled ganache, a mixture of excellent chocolate and heavy cream, melted together and rolled into rough balls. The balls are traditionally rolled in cocoa powder, but sometimes other things are used, from powdered sugar to cake crumbs to paprika. The original idea was for them to resemble savory truffles, an underground fungoid growth that is prized all over the world and usually massively expensive.
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Step 2
Pop one truffle into your mouth and let it sit on your tongue. You're looking for texture, depth of flavor, complexity, even with these simple ingredients. If it's good, it'll be rich; one or two will be enough to start. Notice the creaminess of the texture, the beginning, dominant and after tastes of the chocolate. Good truffles are made with the finest of chocolate, whether it's milk, semisweet or bittersweet. There should be no burnt or off flavors to the chocolate. When it's gone, keep tasting for several seconds. Like a good wine, there will be lingering layers of flavor.
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Step 3
It's been five minutes and you can still taste it, can't you? Have another, or cleanse your palate with hot black coffee or tea. Even some of the big red wines go well with chocolate, a shiraz or a merlot. A cracker or bread will help, too. Do this in between the different flavors.
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Step 4
Move on to the more complex truffles. These will have two main differences from the classic, simple truffles. The fillings will be much more complex, with added flavors that can range from simple vanilla or mint to more exotic flavors such as chiles or ginger, even teas or coffees or wines. These truffles will be coated with a thin (usually) layer of chocolate, light, dark, white, whatever suits the maker and the flavor of the filling. There is almost always some garnish, as simple as a swirl or candied flower or as elaborate as a tiny, edible oil painting. The garnish frequently is related to the flavor of the filling.
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Step 5
Pay close attention to the shell as you take a bite. There should be a gloss to the surface, and it should snap as you bite into it, both signs of perfectly tempered chocolate. This covering, usually couverture chocolate, is there to protect the filling and your hands, and also to set the stage for the filling. Couverture is high in cocoa butter, which gives it its gloss and the ability to form a much thinner shell than other chocolates. It is also delicate and harder to handle than most chocolate.
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Step 6
Now, examine the filling, visually and with your mouth. Make sure that you have a bite of everything at once, couverture, decoration and filling. It should be tasted as a whole. Again, most truffles are made to be eaten in one or two bites. Complex filling can include nuts, caramel, nougat, butter cream, flavored with pretty much anything the human imagination can come up with. Some radical truffles are flavored with everything from olive oil to savory herbs to chile. Experience it all, slowly, a bite at a time.
