Quoted By:
I've never actually cooked with a truffle, I've only used truffle oil. If I remember correctly, black truffles (and their oil) stand up to heat better than white, so white is more often used as a finishing ingredient. (I have no idea of the veracity of that.)
If you smell a straight-up truffle, or even something like truffle salt, the smell *can* be off-putting. But combined with foods, it's indescribably heavenly. Sometimes I'll finish making a soup and think "this needs something extra". ONE DROP of truffle oil and it's enhanced tenfold. It's pretty amazing stuff. (This might sound crazy to most people, but I'd rank its flavor as medium-bodied brown [garlic is heavier, celery is lighter]. Very savory, gorgeously aromatic.)