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Thursday, April 10, 2014

D'Artagnan Truffle Butter Earns Whom You Know's Highest Recommendation, and It's What Your Refrigerator Is Missing If It Doesn't Reside There Already!

When Whom You Know was created, if Peachy Deegan worked for six days and enjoyed herself on the seventh, she would have eaten these exact truffle butters.  Eating this truffle butter was practically a religious experience for her and you'll feel like this is probably what God eats in heaven.  The idea of truffle anything sends us into complete ecstasy, however, when both the truffles and the butter are of the caliber of D'Artagnan, the pure combination will trump all other truffle concoctions you have come in contact with!  They make something as simple as an English muffin possess real wow power.  Putting either the white or the black D'Artagnan truffle butters on an edible item is commensurate with Queen Elizabeth waking up out of bed and putting on the Crown.  If you want to interact with a culinary endeavor which will make you feel glad to be alive, these are it.  The flavor, the taste, and the texture define excellence and will now be setting the butter standard for us.  Both the white and the black truffle butters deserve a spot in your refrigerator if you intend to live your best life.  Bravo Ariane!

My first experience with truffle-anything was truffle salt in Japan several years ago.  Since then, the lure of delicious truffles draws me in whenever I catch a breath of their unmistakable scent. D’Aragnan’s truffle butters (both black and white varieties) are so versatile that they completely satiate my taste for truffles!  I was fortunate to try these truffle butters in a variety of different ways – on simple toast, popcorn and pasta, and each way was delicious.  The white truffle butter is truffle perfection – it has the delicious, unique taste and smell of truffles, and the butter format makes it so easy to use in a variety of applications.  The black truffle butter is equally as good, but with the slight hint of added soy sauce was slightly more zesty.  When heated or applied to something warm, their fantastic truffle flavor mellows out to just the right level of truffle-ness and melds perfectly with the food.  If you love truffles as much as I do, you can’t go wrong with this!



There are magical food couplings the elevate both flavors: Figs and prosciutto, chocolate and peanut butter, melted cheese on anything. But at the top of this hierarchy, there is D’Artagnan’s Truffle Butter in both white (more delicate) and black (better for cooking). The best part about truffle butter is that there is a place for it in any dish where you might use regular butter. For example, we enjoy mashed potatoes—especially purple ones from our local green market—nearly every weekend, but the white truffles add a whole delicate, earthy, dimension. We sautéed a bunch of oyster mushrooms in black truffle butter and combined them with jasmine rice (also doused in truffle butter), which made a delectable side dish. We topped our fresh local flounder filet with a dollop of truffle butter. There was just enough black truffle butter left over to top our steamed vegetables and asparagus has never tasted better.

I love truffles.  Not the chocolate kind (although I love them too), but the rare, savory kind that make any meal 1,000x more interesting, in my opinion.  I also love butter.  Well, thanks to the folks at D'Artagnan, I'm now able to enjoy truffle butter!  Yes, that's right.  Real truffle pieces, beautifully combined with sweet, creamy butter.  Although I've tried truffle oil before, I've never tried truffle butter, and it really makes creating an outstanding meal extremely simple!  D'Artagnan offers both black truffle butter and white truffle butter, so depending on which flavor is more your speed, you can use either.  You can add them to meat dishes for a burst of flavor, spread them on a baguette, accompanied with some wine and cheese, for a fun, European-inspired meal, melt them to pour over popcorn, add them to pasta...the possibilities are endless!  I've sampled both, and can't decide which one I like better - but I know for sure that both will have a regular spot in my refrigerator, going forward!
Truffle Butter

These butters work well when added to pasta or fish and are ideal seasonings to braised, steamed or sautéed vegetables.

·         Black truffle butter has an earthy flavor that complements meat, sauces,
pastas and French recipes
·         Our black truffle butter is made with premium butter, studded with
black truffles, black truffle oil, truffle juice and soy sauce
·         The delicate garlic flavor of white truffle butter goes well with fish, eggs,
pasta and Italian dishes
·         Our white truffle butter is made with premium butter, porcini mushrooms,
white truffle oil, and salt
·         Both butters are rich and creamy
·         Either butter can be used as a spread, a base for creamy sauces, or
replace traditional butter in any recipe
·         Available in either a resealable plastic package or 1lb log
·         Shelf life: 45 days refrigerated or 1 year frozen
·         Both are made with exclusive D’Artagnan recipes
·         Made in small quantities, for a consistently fresh product

Our Commitment
At D’Artagnan we are committed to the highest quality and standards of animal husbandry and sustainable, humane farming practices. That’s why we partner with small farmers to bring you fresh, consistent, all-natural products. The results are superior quality meat that is tender and flavorful, containing no growth hormones or antibiotics. D’Artagnan also delivers premium charcuteries, mushrooms, truffles, and other prepared goods of the same high caliber.



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Co-founded by Ariane Daguin in 1985, D’Artagnan is the premier manufacturer of handmade, fresh and naturally-prepared pâtés, sausages and smoked delicacies, and is the nation’s leading purveyor of all-natural and organic poultry and game, free-range meat, foie gras, smoked & cured charcuterie, wild mushrooms and truffles. 

From the beginning, D’Artagnan has been committed to procuring and providing the freshest, and most consistent all-natural and organic poultry, meat and game available. D’Artagnan actively partners with farmers dedicated to excellent animal husbandry, sustainable and humane farming practices, and is a leader in the free-range, preservative-free, no growth hormone movement.

D’Artagnan’s inception greatly influenced the culinary landscape in America, since it coincided with America’s growing interest in gourmet food. Before D’Artagnan, four-star chefs had absolutely no resource for beautiful, fresh ingredients such as foie gras, duck, squab, and quail. But once D’Artagnan made these and other previously difficult-to-find products readily available, a whole new era in American cooking was born.

As the restaurant revolution took off, home cooks demanded access to the delicious food they had tasted and experienced while eating out. D’Artagnan answered the public’s demand by creating an ever-expanding line of retail products. Pâtés, terrines, sausages, bacons and other delicious prepared and fresh products are now available for every home gourmand to enjoy, in retail stores and also at www.dartagnan.com.

D’Artagnan continues to be a leading proponent of the sustainable movement in agriculture, educating consumers about the importance of understanding and appreciating how food is raised and harvested. At the same time, the company continually challenges itself and its suppliers to seek and develop new products for both its restaurant and retail customers. As Ariane Daguin, co-founder and now sole owner of D’Artagnan says, “Our success has always been due to our passion for quality and our commitment to procuring both the best and most unique products we can find.”

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KEY MILESTONES

3000 BC Egyptians feed figs and grains to their geese to create foie gras

476 AD Beginning of the Dark Ages

1985 D’Artagnan is born in Jersey City, NJ with two employees: Ariane and George. They lease a second hand orange juice truck 

1989 Tired of clogging the kitchen sink with duck fat, D’Artagnan opens a USDA inspected commercial kitchen. D’Artagnan now has 31 employees and its own truck.  The famous Mousse of 100% Foie Gras is born 

April 1993 The first organic chicken in the USA is bred by Mennonite farmers in Pennsylvania, organized by D’Artagnan. The USDA refuses to allow the word “organic” on the label

June 1996 D’Artagnan opens first major supermarket chain account

Sept. 1997 D’Artagnan moves from Jersey City to the Ironbound in Newark, NJ with 57 employees & 4 trucks

Dec. 1998 D’Artagnan is the first to import fresh foie gras from France into the US. They are still the only ones importing it

Sept. 1999 D’Artagnan creates mushroom and truffle division, and gains vegetarian friends

June 2000 1st Prize NASFT – Mousse of Foie Gras.  D’Artagnan has 75 employees and 11 trucks

Oct. 2000 D’Artagnan launches website and starts selling direct to consumers


Feb. 2002 Opening of D’Artagnan, The Rotisserie, which receives two stars from the New York Times. William Grimes writes: “D’Artagnan has the real thing. In fact it has so much personality, it can sell it by the pound. The food is authentic, robust, earthy and powerfully flavored.” 


Oct. 2002 The USDA finally allows D’Artagnan to label its chickens “Certified Organic”

June 2003 D’Artagnan introduces duck bacon

Feb. 2004 D’Artagnan introduces humanely raised veal, and redefines politically correct meat

June 2004 1st Prize NASFT - Medallion of Foie Gras with Truffles

Dec. 2004 D’Artagnan has 115 employees and 23 trucks

Feb. 2005 D’Artagnan celebrates its 20th birthday

Aug. 2005 Ariane becomes sole owner and CEO of D’Artagnan

Dec. 2005 First $5 million sales month 

Jan. 2006 D’Artagnan introduces certified humanely raised Berkshire pork – another symbol of D’Artagnan’s commitment to superior animal husbandry practices and sustainable farming

April 2006 City of Chicago bans the sale of foie gras. Predictions of a return to the Dark Ages

July 2006 NASFT Best Hors d’Oeuvres Award – French Kisses

Dec. 2006 D’Artagnan hits biggest sales month ever

Jan. 2007 D’Artagnan has 133 employees and 23 trucks 

May 2008 Chicago repeals foie gras ban! 


July 2008 D’Artagnan hits $50 million in sales

Aug. 2009 Bring on the [good] beef ,never ever program (no hormones ,no antibiotics from birth)

Feb.2010 Celebrating a quarter century birthday .Big party ,T Colicchio and M Tivy lead the rock band 

June 2011 The first Rohan duck is born.

June 2012 Opening of the warehouse and operations in Chicago , the Mid West open up.

Sept 2013 Green Circle chicken makes the first page of the New York Times 

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