Recently I made a trip to the Langhe to check the condition of white truffles and to access the expectations of the 2023 season.

“The wonders of mother nature you never really know the quality until you shave and taste”

It’s still very early in the season and the first truffles of the season are mixed in quality yet still tasty. The season started dry and sunny – but the outlook is still positive. However, the local Alba truffles in the market are scarce, and those being sold have nothing much to do with Alba even though they are sold as Alba truffles.

It is difficult ‘not to be fooled’ because many truffles are coming from the Marche and or other regions like Tuscany or Emilia Romagna – and that’s not to say these truffles aren’t’ tasty because they are!

“Right now the chances of getting real Alba truffles outside of Piedmont is slim to none”

And it is true, many white truffles are labelled as ‘Tartufi d’Alba’ (from Alba, Italy) actually came from Istria in Croatia. Most truffle consumers have no clue as to what they are buying, and a reliable source is as important as anything when buying white truffles.

“It doesn’t make sense to pay for Alba when its coming from another locale”

What should I look for in a truffle? It’s important to understanding what a good truffle smells like – the first step in the right direction and it takes years of practice. Accessing the condition and examining the physical aspects, i.e., the physical appearance is perhaps one of the most important aspects of any truffle. If the truffle is in good condition it tells a lot about the truffle itself. But always wash your truffle before shaving. A truffle needs to be cleaned and dried before eaten and its is only then you can see the physical condition of the truffle you can begin to judge it.

“Always clean the truffle before eating it due to the fact it has been either treated for transport or it has dirt from its habitat – it doesn’t make sense to swallow the dirt of the make-up”

When the truffles are bundled together in a box it is very difficult to understand which Truffle has more purity unless it is under your nose. You need to take your time and you need to do a sniff test. Remember at the time of purchase all vendors buying truffles use make up put make up otherwise the soil can contaminate, and transport can be forbidden.

If you see the up-close image below it is obvious these are most likely not from Alba and could be from Croatia or elsewhere in Italy. The truffle is dry (not ready) and the color is uneven with dark spots indicating some oxidation from the ground, and or a root of the tree. This darkness happens but you should cut away to avoid bitterness. And the unevenness in the maturity is an obvious sign the truffle isn’t ready and in some cases if the truffle season is premature the truffle will not improve overtime.

Truffles are easily damaged when harvested and it is common to see damage on visible parts of the truffle. If damaged it can mature more rapidly (exposed to the environment) but a scratch from the dog, or from digging is sometimes helpful to see the maturity. This isn’t necessarily seen as an advantage due to the fact damages lessen the value of any truffle. Any truffle in good condition will sell better but not always taste better. The selection process requires a little luck and a good nose and some understanding of what you are buying.

Sometimes truffles have black spots (as shown above) which appear on the surface and the soil itself impregnates crevasses resulting in a darkness when there is an opening on the truffles surface. These dark spots can be dry, musty and unpleasant – similar to the way fruit which has been bitten and left on the counter to oxidate. The truffle below has those ‘burned marks’ you sometimes find in truffle – it isn’t optimal and cut it away and you see them below.

The maturing process begins when they removed from the ground. They can be kept as they continue to mature as do fruits, but it depends on the quality and storage conditions. You should be storing your truffles and not in white rice something a bit of a myth. The reason is first of all truffles are too expensive to impart flavour into white rice. It doesn’t make sense and thats why so many restaurats cheat with truffle oil 100% chemical:https://mesubim.com/2013/11/14/truffles-destroyed/

Secondly, the ideas to preserve your truffle to optimize the aromas and taste. So, when store it should be similar to the environment that it was found, so kept in a dark place with a good, consistent level of humidity, not too much. Maintain it in an odourless towel in a secure box, such as Tupperware.

It makes sense that from time to time you check it (don’t leave it for days on end) to understand how it evolves. You may notice the aromas are vanishing or it is getting spongy or worms! While maintaining your truffle in a paper towel remember it to absorbs lots of the truffle’s aroma. The trick is to keep the truffle for the ‘right period of time’ and not too long. Control the truffle after a day or so if you can open it up and see how it’s doing – is a developing mold is the aroma intensifying what state is your truffle – is it developing in a positive way. Getting to know your truffle and understand by smelling it touching it to understand how it involves whether it’s getting spongy or firmness and or colour.

Be ready to consume it when it’s perfectly ready – and it is best served with a fried egg and use butter not olive oil. All of the sound very easy to do if you take the time to get to know your truffle. There is always optimal time to eat a truffle, and if you eat it too early, it will be potentially dry and less flavourful as seen below.

“Truffles are similar to diamonds except they don’t often come with ‘bona fide’ certificates”

These truffles below are dry in appearance which is are more indicative of what is available at the current time. And the picture below is a local Alba truffle (quite small 15 grams) but you can see that the maturity is still premature – too much white, which indicates slight dryness. That’s not to say that they won’t have a ‘pungent smell’ – they can smell excellent but you really won’t know until you begin to put them through your mandolin.