Thanks for the suggestion--I will try asafoetida.

Does asafoetida ring a bell? I can't think of anything else it would be. Good luck.

http://www.pataksusa.com/cooking/spiceguide/asafoetida.php

Hi betteirene---thank you--yes, that's the 1st article I read on truffles and "truffle oil". Then there was something on one of the blogs about an herb to approximate an earthy note, etc... Do you know that one?

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/16/dining/16truf.html?_r=1

Truffle oil really does include truffles (but not herbs). In most bottles of the real stuff you will see a couple of tiny flakes, either white truffle or black. It doesn't take much to infuse the oil. Why is it sold in such tiny bottles? Because once you add an adulterent to olive oil it does not last terribly long once opened. It's expensive for a reason---you almost have to be Bill Gates or Mario Batali to be able to afford a white truffle in season. But it's a fabulous ingredient for amping up mushroom or pasta dishes in the autumn.

No--since most truffle oil is not really made from truffles and still cost too much $, the idea is that one can approximate truffle oil by infusing an oil with 2 certain herbs--one that caputres one note of truffle oil and the other herb that captures another note of truffle oil. It has nothing to do with infusing oil with garlic, etc.

I'm confused (as usual, blond thing) Are you trying to make truffle oil or infuse oil with herbs or in fuse truffle oil with herbs. First I know nothing about infusing oil with truffle. I do butter instead. Second I would recommend herbing up truffle oil. It will mask the truffle flavor to a degree of not worth doing. If you want to infuse oil with herbs, well this is my favorite thing to do. Take a sauce pan appropriate for the amount of herbs and Olive oil you wish to do. Bring the oil up to 195F and let it stay there for a while. a long while. Test with bread to desired taste. Extraction happens best in my opinion between 180-200F. I don't recommend any higher than 200F. My favorite oil is two heads of garlic peeled, High % of thyme, low % of rosemary and sage. The more the better. When I do this my sauce pan is stuffed full and then I add the oil. I do a quart at a time. I hope this helps, good luck!