Truff's Hot Sauce Made Oprah's Favorite Things List Again — But Is It Really Worth the Hype?
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Some products show up everywhere — subway ads, Instagram, celeb endorsements. With this series, we're testing such products to conclude one thing: Does it live up to the hype?
What’s everyone talking about?
Truff is a truffle-infused luxury hot sauce company that's likely taken over your social media feed thanks to its array of condiments and partnership with Taco Bell.
What’s the buzz about?
Truffles are usually reserved for seasonal fine dining experiences, but Truff's Original Hot Sauce has brought this culinary treat to your home for less than $17. Though Truff debuted in 2017, the hype around this brand is still going strong, thanks to a highly coveted endorsement from Oprah and its popularity on TikTok.
Where’s all the hype coming from?
The three-bottle sampler pack is one of Oprah's Favorite Things
A limited-edition Taco Bell partnership
Celebrity fans including Kris Jenner, Lil Jon, Steve Aoki, Pusha T, and Storm Reid
More than 44.6 million views on TikTok recipes and tutorials
Years of coverage and reviews from sites like Food Network, Buzzfeed, and The Kitchn
A new YouTube series where stars like Deadmau5 put their cooking skills to the test
So does it live up to the hype?
How’d we come to this conclusion?
I'll be honest with you — I'm a big hot sauce fan, but my biggest gripe with them is when they go for that “wow factor” and hit you with way too much spice and not enough flavor. Truff, on the other hand, has elevated the hot sauce game with an array of distinctive flavors, with the Original Hot Sauce being the brand's crown jewel. It's a truffle-infused luxury condiment with a social media-heavy marketing strategy that lives up to the hype.
I've been using this hot sauce for roughly 2 years, and its sweet and spicy flavor profile has helped transform dull healthy foods into appetizing dishes. Its made with their unique signature red chili pepper blend that contains organic sugar, vinegar, garlic, and salt — which are just a few ingredients that help make this hot sauce completely vegan and gluten-free. Organic agave nectar and black truffle-infused olive oil also make Truff's hot sauce one of a kind.
You should also note that because these sauces are preservative-free, you'll need to store them in the fridge for optimal freshness.
➥ How It Compares to Other Hot Sauce
Truff Original initially tastes sweet thanks to agave, but after a few seconds, you feel a surprising kick thanks to ripe chili peppers. Once the heat starts fading away, you taste the black truffle flavor.
Each bottle has between 2,500 to 3,000 Scoville heat units (SHU), a scale for measuring how spicy a pepper tastes. The scale goes into the millions, but that's reserved for items you really shouldn't consume, including pepper spray.
Truff White Hot Original tastes similar to the Original sauce, but the sweetness is faint — the spice and white truffle flavor really shines here. Each bottle contains anywhere from 2,500 to 3,000 SHU.
Since I prefer black truffles, this is my least favorite Truff sauce, but I would never turn down a bottle of White Hot if Original isn't available.
Truff Hotter Sauce is the patriarch of Truff's hot sauce roster. With anywhere from 5,000 to 7,000 SHUs, Hotter is by far the brand's spiciest option and it tastes truly delish but in limited quantities. It's pretty easy for the chili peppers to catch you off guard because the heat immediately hits your tastebuds. Once the initial spice begins to wear off, the black truffle flavor profile is evident and is a welcome reprieve from the chili peppers.
Pickapeppa Sauce has a mild and sour flavor with a dash of sweetness that can be used similar to A.1. Sauce. Truff's Original sauce is much sweeter without canceling out the spice and earthy black truffle flavor and scent.
Scotch bonnet pepper is dramatically hotter than any of Truff's three sauces and you can see diced bits of yellow and orange pepper flakes floating in the liquidy condiment. Truff's red-orange sauces have a beautiful smooth texture with a medium-thick consistency that adds some much-needed color to food.
➥ How We Use It
You can sprinkle this orange hot sauce on pretty much every savory dish you like to cook or have delivered to your home. I use it throughout the day and like to rely on it to level up boring, healthy food like cauliflower rice and zucchini.
For breakfast, it adds a much-welcomed kick to avocado toast and scrambled or fried eggs. When I have a bit more time during the weekend, I'm often drizzling this hot sauce on my omelet or frittata.
During lunch, I typically enjoy pairing it with any leftover chicken dish I have in the fridge, and apparently, I'm not the only one. A quick peek through TikTok, and you'll see plenty of users drenching their chicken nuggets, strips, and bites in this yummy hot sauce. Don't partake in eating chicken? You can always dip cauliflower wings into the hot sauce!
It also tastes phenomenal with popular Tex-Mex and Mexican entrees, including burrito bowls and tacos.
While I would personally never bring a full or mini hot sauce bottle in my bag, you can travel with precious cargo in a discreet manner thanks to Truff's latest release: hot sauce packets.
What’s the bottom line?
Truff's many celebrity endorsements and social media love are well-deserved. The Original Hot Sauce is fantastic and offers a sweet and mild heat with a unique black truffle flavor. It's truly not like anything else I've tried before at any restaurant in the states or abroad.
Through my research, I couldn't find any other truffle-infused hot sauce on the market. If you love black truffles like I do — or just want to try something new — then you'll want to give this hot sauce a whirl.
And for anyone who prefers white truffles or needs more heat, consider the brand's two other sauces. Better yet, order a Variety Pack that includes all three of the brand's popular sauces. It comes in a chic black-and-gold presentation box that makes for an unexpected birthday or holiday gift.
Compared to other hot sauces on the market, Truff is on the higher end, but you can sometimes find the sauces discounted on Amazon. So, don't forget to bookmark this page to stay in the loop with all things Truff!
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