Truffle

The rare White Truffle

Tuber Magnatum Pico

It is surely one of the most valuable and rare products that we can use in the kitchen.The specific environmental and climatic conditions that encourage growth, make its presence rare and the habitat especially delicate, where any small change can make unfruitful the truffle ground.

PERIDIUM: smooth, color ochre light, sometimes greenish

GLEBA: color nut-brown, with thin veins

SMELL: very strong and aromatics, unmistakable

SYMBIOTIC PLANTS: oak, poplar, willow, linden

HARVEST TIME: 1 October – 31 December

   

The rare black truffle

Tuber Melanosporum Vittadini

The warts that cover the outer surface are smaller and less pronounced than those of summer black truffle, similar in appearance. The smell is fruity and intense. It grows in the hilly and mountainous areas in symbiosis with hazels, oaks and the farnia. Internal color tends to red tones.

After the white truffle, is considered the most commercially  valuable and one of the protagonist in the international cuisine.

PERIDIUM: brown, with small warts

GLEBA: dark, with small veins

SMELL: sweet, pleasant and intense

SYMBIOTIC PLANTS: hazel, oak and farnia

HARVEST TIME: 15 November – 15 March

  

The summer black truffle

Tuber Aestivum Vittadini

It is brown colored and the outer surface is covered with pyramidal warts, it has delicate and aromatic flavor. It grows in sandy or clay soil, usually of broad leaf forest, but can also be found in the pine forests.

PERIDIUM: brown, with evident pyramidal warts

GLEBA: marbled dark, clear when is unripe

SMELL: delicate and pleasant

SYMBIOTIC PLANTS: broadleaf and conifers

HARVEST TIME: 1 May – 30 August

 

The Bianchetto

Tuber Borchii Vittadini

Its peridiumis smooth and thecoloris off white ,slightly darker in the gleba when it reaches maturity. The feature that distinguishes it from white truffle is the smell, less intense and more garlicky. It grows in calcareous lands.

PERIDIUM: similar to the rare white truffle but darker

GLEBA: darker than rare white truffle, with larger veins

SMELL: less intense than the white truffle and more garlicky

SYMBIOTIC PLANTS: broadleaf and conifers

HARVEST TIME: 15 January – 31 March

  

The Black Fall Truffle (Uncinato/Burgundy)

Tuber Uncinatum

Similar to Tuber Aestivum with more pleasing and intense odor The name of this truffle is derived from its hook shaped spores. Its odor resembles that of a hazelnut . It ripens all year round but mostly from September to December. In Italy, it is found most frequently in central and northern zones. Wooden and humid areas, not exposed to the sun.

PERIDIUM: hook shaped spores

GLEBA: darker than summer truffle, almost black when mature

SMELL: halzenut, porcini, stronger than summer truffle

SYMBIOTIC PLANTS: oak, poplar, hazel

HARVEST TIME: 1 October – 31 December

  

The truffle Brumale

Tuber Brumale

Similar to the Black Mesentricum but with very small and flat warts. Interior color tends to blu/violet, compared to the Mesentricum which has red shades.

PERIDIUM: black iron, with small and flat warts

GLEBA: grey almost black with large white veins

SMELL: strong, unripened helzenut, musk

SYMBIOTIC PLANTS: hazel, oak

HARVEST TIME: 15 November – 15 March