Truffles are unlike any other food, similar to their counterparts mushrooms, they are the most expensive living food organism we know, and comparable to Matsutake.

Truffles are nearing an end as the weather gets colder and the truffles grounds getting harder. Yet this season has been dry and truffles from Piedmonte are scarce no matter what people say, most truffles are from all over Italy and elsewhere. So what is the perfect truffle anyway? You can hear lots of ideas and mother nature speaks for itself.

The perfect truffles is best when it is mature and ready to be consumed. No doubt like any fruit, it needs time to mature and in the case of this truffle it had aromas that you couldn’t imagine. My wife who has enough truffle experience said “this is one of the most aromatic I’ve ever smelled, and it is almost fake. But is it?

It is true defining a truffle is complex and there are many truffles that are dressed up and shipped all over the globe. I sometimes wonder if they spray the wrapping with aroma because this year the truffles are so aromatic and their intensity less so – I still wonder. I am suspicious about truffles given I have seen the tricks of the trade.

So the perfect truffle must have good appearance, good clean aromas, and not any mushroom odors or wet leather smells or wet wood. They must have a clean line of truffle aroma, that sails into your nose and tingle. A firmness, never spongy or too pliable in between your fingers. Selecting a truffle is difficult because all truffles play off each other and when they are cold its tough to make a good selection.

The truffle needs a crisp clean nose, exterior appearance not bruised, and the shape from my standpoint is important because it changes the physical appearance when you slice it. The flower, a flat bulbous type is amongst my favorite shape but as each truffle is different you must be selective and case by case you have the challenge of guessing which will deliver the best taste.

The long and short of it is, when it comes to truffles you hope to get what you pay – so the more you buy the more you learn.