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Get yourself down to Aldi pronto - very cheap Claret and "cheap" Normandy butter.

AJB Temple said:
Aldi, as per original post. I bought the entire remaining stock of French cream butter that they had in Tonbridge when I went back for more. They had no more out back. A friend of mine had wanted 40 packs as well. No doubt it will come in again. I also bought their remaining stock of truffle butter (smaller blocks - 100g) that they had in as a Christmas special. They were selling these for a totally ludicrous 18 pence each to get rid of them.
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Thanks - I think I was getting confused about boxes (of bottles) and wine boxes (which are better at Lidl). Something like that :)
 
Truffle butter? Is that literally butter with grated truffle in it?
I'm a bit of a Philistine when it comes to truffle, I'm afraid. I once brought a small jar back from Italy and I never saw what all the fuss was about.
 
Yes Chris. For 3 litre boxes of Shiraz I was saying go to Lidl as the offering is much better than Aldi. IMPO obvs.

Yes Steve. Truffle butter = £5 premium on my menu :ROFLMAO: Some is made by adding truffle oil and some by adding truffle trimmings dried and ground to a powder, rather like powder made from dried mushrooms. I recommend making dried mushroom powder as it gives a huge aroma kick to things like pasta and as a seasoning for ragu dishes. Keeps for yonks in an airtight sterilised jar.

If you bought it in a jar it was some form of black truffle. There is a world of difference between a truly fresh black perigord truffe and some little offering in a jar. There is also a price differential as well. Some people don't like truffles and some are very keen. My son adores truffles but dislikes intensely their close relative mushrooms.
 
Yes, it was black.
I don't think I'll bother trying the good stuff, it could get to be an expensive habit, by the sound of it...
When you say "make your own dried mushroums", do you mean buy normal muchrooms and then dehydrate them, or do you mean buy dried mushrooms and powderificate them?
 
If you have a dehumidifier you could make your own. What I do is buy dried ones from Asian grocers. Dirt cheap. These usually come vacuum packed. I just stick them in my spice grinder. Then put them in a warm jar with a good seal. Makes a dramatic difference, but treat as a seasoning just before service so that your guests loved ones get a good hit of the aroma. Go easy on the quantity.

It need not be that expensive for you, Steve. You just need to find a supplier who gets them from the national park area 60 or so miles from you? And black winter truffles should be cheapish if you can find out whoever is supplying restaurants in big towns in your area. Worth it for a one off special experience maybe.
 
We do have a couple of Asian supermarkets in Limoges. Asia Market is the best one I've found (they also stock Old Jamaica Ginger Beer, the real stuff that I'm not supposed to even look at, as well a PG Tips). But the dried mushrooms are not cheap. This 100g pack was, IIRC, about 20€. I've also just noticed it is a tad out of date. I've had it a while. Time to find a recipe, methinks.
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Tad out of date means turn into powder.

That is expensive. I pay 4 euros 80 in Germany for 200 grams. You need to get to a proper Asian area. I realise France is tricky vs Köln.
 
Just sipping on a glass of the claret now it’s nice.

I used to poach fillet steak in mushroom stock made from dried mushrooms, porcini usually.

Pete
 
Here in Chateauponsac you can count on the fingers of one hand the number of non-White faces I've seen in the last two years. Ergo, ethnic foods are not exacty common.
Limoges is more cosmopolitan. I don't know the city very well yet, I need to find more specialist supermarkets. There must be North African ones about. But that quartier is, tbh, rather less salubrious. Grafitti. Dumped rubbish. Broken buildings.
I can leave my car and house unlocked here without fear. I wouldn't do that in Limoges.
 
Two boxes (each containing 6 bottles :) ) for £60. Apparently, they have lots in store - I'll be going back for more. Thanks for the heads-up, Adrian. And yes, I have started rather early but it's a Sunday and I couldn't wait to try it for size...

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Steve Maskery said:
Truffle butter? Is that literally butter with grated truffle in it?
I'm a bit of a Philistine when it comes to truffle, I'm afraid. I once brought a small jar back from Italy and I never saw what all the fuss was about.
Click to expand...
Don't talk to me about truffles. I clearly had 'Gullible' tattoe'd on my forehead. Many, many years ago when I were a sprog, we went to Milan and had a very nice lunch one day. Never had truffles before. No idea of the price. Bit like black pepper innit?

"Would you like some truffle, Signore?"

"Yes please"

"Would you like some more Signore?"

"Yes please"

Rinse and repeat.

£30 for effing truffles. :mad:
 
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