Frequently Asked Questions
What Are Truffles?
Truffles have always been revered and date as far back as 1600 B.C. These special funghi are known as the “diamonds of the earth.”
Truffles are ectomycorrihzal fungi. They live in a symbiotic (mutually beneficial) relationship with the roots of certain living trees. Most common trees that form truffles: Oak, Hazelnut, and Poplar.
There are about 200 species of truffles. The most revered truffles are the Aestivum Vitt, Uncinatum, Magnatum Pico, and Melanosporum. Truffles follow the binomial system to best determine the species. These truffles are found in France, Italy, and Spain.
To learn more about truffle hunting, please refer to Types of Fresh Truffles.
Are There Truffle Seasons?
This classification of global truffle species includes all the truffles of culinary and economic importance.
Black Summer Truffles (Tuber Aestivum) - $$
May-September
Burgundy Truffles (Tuber Uncinatum)- $$
September-November
Black Winter Truffles (Tuber Melanosporum Vitt) - $$$
November-March
White Truffles (Tuber Magnatum) - $$$$
October-December
To learn more about truffle hunting, please refer to Types of Fresh Truffles.
How Do Truffles Grow?
Truffles are difficult to find and grow underground attached to the roots of trees.
Truffles grow wild. There has been scientific advancement to inoculate the spores of certain trees to produce truffles, thus creating truffle plantations, which helps provide a larger bounty of truffles. However, scientists have yet to be able to succeed in doing this with the white truffle, which is why it is the most expensive, as it’s the hardest to grow and find.
To learn more about how truffles grow, please refer to How Do Truffles Grow.
To learn more about where truffles grow, please refer to What Land Can Grow Truffles.
To learn more about truffle hunting, please refer to The Truffle Hunter and His Dogs.
How Long Do Truffles Last?
Truffles are living organisms. They have a short shelf life. It is best to consume immediately. The Black Summer, Burgundy, and Black Winter have a longer shelf life (5-7 days) than the White Truffle (2-3 days).
To learn more about truffle hunting, please refer to Types of Fresh Truffles.
How Do I Store Fresh Truffles?
There is a mysterious element to truffles, as there is so much unpredictability in the harvest. Time, energy, and love go into hunting for these gems of the kitchen.
Therefore, you must take proper care of your truffles, to bring its true magnificence to your guests. Store truffles individually in paper towels and place them into a sealed container. Each day, re-wrap in new paper towels, to keep the truffles dry.
To learn more about storing, please refer to Fun Storing Tips and Mythbusters: Storing in Rice .
What Do I Put Truffles On?
Truffles go well with everything, such as seafood, meats, eggs, pasta, risotto, potatoes, and cream sauces. Commonly they can be found paired with dishes that are more subtle in flavor, to be able to pick up on the special truffle flavor.
Here at Sabatino Tartufi, we are all about truffles. So our love of truffles expand even beyond our fresh truffles, into a range of preserved products like truffle oils, truffle butter, truffle salt, and truffle honey.
For more detailed information please refer to What Foods do Fresh Truffles Pair well with?
What Tool Should I Use For The Fresh Truffles?
You can use a variety of tools to serve your fresh truffles.
For shaving truffles, you can purchase a Truffle Slicer, or you can use a mandoline. If you have great knife skills, you can also thinly slice the truffles.
For grating truffles, you can use a cheese grater.
For chopped truffles, you can use your chefs knife to rough chop or finely mince your truffles.
To learn more about truffle tools, please refer to How Do I Use a Truffle Slicer?
Are your products kosher?
We are proud to say that we have a wide range of products that are kosher certified. Please note that although these are kosher, they are not kosher for passover.
