Truffle leads to a magical mystery tour
ED MURRIETA; ed.murrieta@thenewstribune.com
Published: February 17th, 2008 01:00 AM
Creme Tangerine and montelimat
A Ginger Sling with a pineapple heart
Coffee Dessert – yes, you know it’s Good News
But you’ll have to have them all pulled out after the Savoy Truffle
– from “Savoy Truffle” by George Harrison I’ve been chewing on these Beatles’ lyrics for years. They’re from one of my favorite songs, “Savoy Truffle,” the sneering, anything-but-sweet cautionary ode to confectionery excess that George Harrison wrote for his rock star pal Eric Clapton, whose heroin addiction fueled a severe sweet tooth.
“Savoy Truffle,” recorded for the Beatles’ eponymous 1968 double album (aka “The White Album”), owes lyrical debt to candy – in particular, a box of Mackintosh’s Good News, the British equivalent of Whitman’s Sampler. The candies Harrison wrote and sang about were actually candies contained in Good News assortments.
Four of the song’s confection flavors are a cinch to divine: creamy tangerine, ginger, coffee, and white nougat. (Beatleologist copy editor’s note: Harrison misspelled the name of the nougat, named after the French city Montelimart.)
But what about the one that’ll leave you toothless – the Savoy Truffle?
There was no hint from Harrison, who wrote of “Savoy Truffle” in his 1980 autobiography, “I Me Mine”: “‘Savoy Truffle’ is a funny one written while hanging out with Eric Clapton in the sixties. At that time he had a lot of cavities in his teeth and needed dental work. He always had toothache but he ate a lot of chocolate – he couldn’t resist them and once he saw a box he had to eat them all. He was over at my house and I had a box of ‘Good News’ chocolates on the table and wrote the song from the names inside the lid. I got stuck with the two bridges for a while and Derek Taylor wrote some of the words in the middle … you know that what you eat you are.”
Nice to know that the Beatles’ press agent could write lyrics. But what makes the Savoy Truffle tooth-losing good?
The company that owns Mackintosh’s Good News hasn’t been much help. Nestlé UK discontinued the brand in 1987. In 2003, I contacted Nestlé UK through its Web site and inquired about the ingredients of the Savoy Truffle. So far, I’ve received the company’s monthly e-mail newsletter, but no answer to my question.
I thought I’d hit pay dirt with the cookbook “She Came In Through The Kitchen Window: Recipes Inspired by the Beatles and Their Music.” The author’s inspired recipe? “Savory truffles” made with button mushrooms, canned tomatoes and oregano.
Beatles fan and trivia Web sites have been less insightful.
“Harrison got the idea for this song while consuming psychedelic mushrooms, which he dipped in chocolate,” wrote someone named Zoloft in West Virginia.
Letting my mind float down a stream of confectionery consciousness, I’ve chewed on the Savoy Truffle. Surely, it must be decadent, given Harrison’s warning about having one’s teeth pulled out after eating one. Then there’s the name. Truffle. It must be chocolatey.
But the Savoy Truffle? What hint does Savoy give about its taste? Surely, mass-produced candy didn’t contain the rare white Alba truffle found in the Savoy region where Italy, France and Switzerland converge. Making a batch of chocolate truffles with truffle butter seemed like wishful thinking.
Since I can’t find a vintage box of Mackintosh’s Good News on eBay and Clapton’s people didn’t return my calls, I’m going with an unconfirmed hunch: The Savoy Truffle had something to do with hazelnuts, akin to a chocolate-and-hazelnut-cream confection that originated in the courts of Savoy.
Here’s my take on the Savoy Truffle. Enjoy a batch on Feb. 25, which would have been George Harrison’s sweet 65th birthday.
Ed Murrieta: 253-597-8678
blogs.thenewstribune.com/edsdiner
‘Savoy’ Truffles
Yield: 2 dozen
1/4 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons Frangelico or other hazelnut liqueur
6 ounces best-quality chocolate, chopped
1/2 stick butter, softened
1/2 cup hazelnuts
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place hazelnuts on a sheet pan. Roast hazelnuts in the oven for 10 minutes. Remove from the oven. Cool the nuts and remove their skins. Finely chop nuts and set aside.
In a heavy-bottomed sauce pan, boil the cream until reduced by half. Remove from the heat, stir in the hazelnut liqueur and chocolate. Return to a low heat, stirring until the chocolate melts.
Whisk in the softened butter. When the mixture is smooth, pour it into a shallow bowl and refrigerate until it’s firm, about 40 minutes.
Scoop the truffle mixture with a teaspoon and shape into rough 1-inch balls. Refrigerate again, at least 15 minutes.
When cool and firm, roll the truffle balls in the chopped hazelnuts.
Store truffles, covered, in the refrigerator. Let truffles stand at room temperature for 30 minutes before serving.
Source: Ed Murrieta
http://www.thenewstribune.com/soundlife/story/285684.html
