Tuber Magnatum – Italian White Truffle
The Italian white truffle (Tuber magnatum) is found mainly below 600 meters ASL in northern Italy and up to 900 meters ASL in central Italy. It is also found in small areas of southeastern France, in Istria, Croatia, and the Ticino district of Switzerland.
Average January temperatures in these areas range from -2 to 8°C and average July temperatures range from 18 to 26°C. Average annual rainfall ranges from 500 to 2,000 mm, which is distributed more or less evenly throughout the year. Although in summer, this rain is usually like thunderstorms.
In Italy, this truffle is found in forests with more or less closed crowns, also in areas with relatively sparse vegetation along stream beds. Host trees include hazel (Corylus avellana), willow (Salix spp.), hornbeam (Ostrya carpinifolia), Italian alder (Alnus cordata), poplar and cottonwood (Populus spp.), and oak (Quercus spp.). The most productive hosts are poplars and willows.
The Italian truffle is harvested from mid-August to the end of December. In August and early September, fruiting truffles are often heavily infested by insect larvae such as Suillia univittata.
Unlike black truffles, Italian truffles are used raw or added to dishes after cooking. The white truffle is used as a flavoring agent for salads or pasta, to preserve its delicate and volatile aroma. As the black truffle is usually used in cooked dishes and is harvested between November and March, there is little competition in the market between the two types of truffle.
Tuber magnatum (Italian white truffle) is the most expensive of the truffles. It is considered to be the queen of all truffles while the black truffle is considered the queen in gastronomic circles.
Large Italian white truffles of more than 250 gr. and up to 2 kg. they usually command a relatively higher price. Collectors receive about 60% of the wholesale price. In Italy, to avoid paying taxes on truffle sales (paid by the seller), up to half of the harvest is sold on the black market.
The Italian white truffle has not yet been cultivated (artificially inoculated) on any host tree. Therefore, supplies are limited to what can be collected in natural areas. As late as 2010, there were reports that some scientists were close to successfully inoculating host trees with the spore or mycelium of the Italian white truffle. So let’s hope this mystery can finally be solved and more Italian truffles planted.
Italian white truffles are commercially canned and bottled, but the aroma changes in this process. When the truffle is preserved, they are considerably inferior to the fresh truffle. Cans and bottles of Italian white truffle may also contain other morphologically similar species such as Tuber dryophilum, Tuber borchii (bianchetto) or Tuber maculatum. Italian white truffle oil is widely sold in upscale delicatessens. Sadly, most of these truffle flavored olive oils have never seen a truffle. The aroma of the truffle is usually derived from added chemicals. Despite high demand and high prices, Italian white truffle production, like black truffles, has declined over the past 100 years.
the black truffle