Black Truffle

Where it grows

The black truffle is harvested between mid-November and mid-March in the limestone hills of Périgord, Provence, Umbria, Aragon, and increasingly from cultivated plantations of inoculated oak in Australia, the United States, and South Africa. The fruitbodies form 5–20 cm below the soil surface, found by trained dogs scenting the volatiles released as the truffle ripens.

How to recognise it

A walnut to fist-sized irregular black tuber, hard and waxy in the hand. The outer surface is covered in low pyramidal warts. Sliced open, the interior is dark purple-black laced with a fine white marbling — the spore-bearing veins. The scent is unmistakable: deeply earthy, musky, with notes of damp humus and ripe cheese.

Edibility & cautions

A choice edible. Cheaper Chinese truffles (Tuber indicum) are sometimes substituted; they look almost identical but have a much weaker, less developed aroma.

Culinary use

Shave raw over hot pasta, eggs, or risotto at the last moment; heat dissipates the aroma.