The species of Truffle

White truffles (Tuber magnatum)

The most highly prized, most aromatic, and most expensive truffles are the white truffles. Their season ranges from November to early January. Prices are usually near several thousand dollars a pound. This year’s white truffle season happens to be one of the best in a long time— it started early, prices are low (relatively speaking), and quality is high. If you’ve never had them, this is the season to try them.

Black truffles (Tuber melanosporum)

Black truffles are somewhat more woodsy and mushroomy than white truffles, and not as aromatic. But these have great truffle flavor and are available from December through March when they come from France as Périgord truffles. In our summer, we get them from Australia. Depending on the season, black truffles are usually half the cost of white truffles.

Summer truffles (Tuber aestivum)

Like their cousin the black truffles, summer truffles and Burgundy truffles (Tuber uncinatum) are black on the outside. However, their interior is much lighter in color, ranging from light brown to white. These truffles tend to have minimal truffle flavor and instead have a simple mushroom earthiness. They’re the least expensive of all the truffles (about one tenth the cost of white truffles), and are available during summer where they come from Italy and France. These truffles are beautiful and delicious, but because of their simple flavor, they often leave people wondering about all the truffle hype.

Other truffles

The three species of truffle described above are the major types of truffles used in restaurants around the world. But there are several hundred truffle species found around the world, and some of these lesser known truffles may one day break into the culinary scene.
Numerous species of desert truffles grow in arid regions in Europe, Africa, and Asia, and have played important roles in the cultures of many desert societies. American pecan farmers have been getting some help from American truffle scientists to explore the ecology and culinary potential of the pecan truffle (Tuber lyonii). Truffles can even be found in our own backyards, although it’s very unlikely that they’d be a species that would taste good. During his Ph.D. research, Ben detected truffles under an oak tree in Harvard Yard.