Truffle is a hypogeum fungus (it lives underground), which grows under the roots of some of the most common trees in our territory such as oaks, hazelnuts, poplars and linden trees: thanks to the symbiotic association between the truffle and the plant (Mycorrhiza) they exchange water, nutrition and mineral salts.
Looking at the truffle we find a bark on the outside, called peridium which, depending on the species, can be smooth or wrinkled.On the inside it is made of a fleshy mass, the gleba, which is different depending on the type of truffle.
The four main species used in cooking are white, fine black, white and summer black (also called “scorzone”).
White truffle or Trifola Tubermagnatum Pico:
Hunt: from 1 October to 31 December, according to regional calendars.
Organoleptic characteristics: smooth ochre yellow or olive yellow surface. The inner pulp is yellowish white with brownish shades that vary depending on the ripening, the type of soil and the type of plant with which it lives in symbiosis: for example, truffles that are born near an oak have a hazel colored gleba, those that live near beeches are more reddish. It has an unmistakable and particularly accentuated scent.
Habitat: it is widespread especially in Umbria, Piedmont, Tuscany, and Marche.
Black truffle “Pregiato di Norcia” or Tubermelanosporum Vittadini
Hunt: from 15 November to 15 March, according to regional calendars
Organoleptic Characteristics: Peridium appears as a black wrinkly surface, sometimes with small reddish areas if the product is unripe. The gleba is black-brown with very dense slight whitish veins. The aroma is characteristic, not too pungent and the taste is always delicate.
Habitat: Widely spread in the Central Apennines, in Piedmont and in Veneto, it can be cultivated in suitable soils specially reforested with particular tree species.
Black summer truffle (Scorzone) or Tuberaestivum Vittadini
Hunt: from 1st May to 31st August
Organoleptic characteristics: the peridium has a black color, with the typical protruding bumps, of large size, that characterizeit. The gleba is hazel color with numerous whitish veins, more or less thin.The scentis more delicate than other black truffles and the flavor resembles that of porcini mushrooms.
Habitat: the summer black truffle lives in symbiosis with many types of plants such as the kernel, the hornbeam, the beech, the birch and the pine. It can be found throughout the central Apennines and in Campania, Emilia-Romagna and Piedmont.
White truffle “Bianchetto” (also called Marzulus) or Tuberborchii Vittadini or Tuberalbidum
Hunt: from 15 January to 30 April
Organoleptic characteristics: the peridium is smooth and the color can vary between ochre white and dark orange or very dark.
The gleba that is initially whitish, with ripening takes on a brown and reddish color, also has rather branched and whitish veins that darken with the passage of time; the scent is penetrating, and it reminds of garlic.
Habitat: white truffle (bianchetto) is a much more widespread variety than other species. It can be found in broadleaves and conifers woods throughout Italy. Thanks to its ability to adapt to various types of soil, it can live in symbiosis with many species of plants.
