Composition and authentication of commercial and home-made white truffle-flavored oils

Stable isotope ratio analysis (δ13C) of 2,4-dithiapentane, a characteristic truffle odorant detected in most flavored oil samples, could not differentiate between natural and synthetic flavors. By contrast, metabolic profiling revealed that truffle flavor was imprinted to oils by four to six sulfur containing volatiles, two of which (dimethyl sulfoxide and dimethyl sulfone) were exclusively detected in commercial oils, regardless of their synthetic or natural labeling. Overall our results also highlight inconsistencies in product labelling and question the authenticity of oils claiming to contain only natural truffle flavors.