If you want to buy black truffles, we recommend doing so through a specialized black truffle retailer that certifies the truffle is Tuber melanosporum. Sentidos Truferos, for example, offers a wide variety of black truffles in different formats, always with the guarantee that you are buying this particular variety.
If you continue reading, we'll explain why it's important to know which variety of truffle you're buying. The Tuber melanosporum variety is the highest quality and most prized black truffle for cooking, as its range of aromas and flavors is much greater than that of other black truffle varieties. However, due to their similar appearance, they can be easily confused at first glance, so you should keep a few things in mind to identify a Tuber melanosporum black truffle.
Tuber melanosporum
The Tuber Melanosporum is known as the winter truffle because it is harvested during the winter season, when it is at its peak ripeness. Specifically, black truffle harvesting takes place from November to March, and this is the season when you can buy fresh black truffles. The most valuable black truffles are harvested in December and January. Therefore, these are usually the months when the price of black truffles is highest, also due to the high demand during this period, driven by their consumption during the Christmas season.
Appearance of Tuber melanosporum
The black truffle is black and rough on the outside, and on the inside, it has a purplish-black hue with white veins. Under a microscope, the spores appear dark or even opaque.
Aroma of tuber melanosporum
The aroma of the Tuber melanosporum truffle variety is much more intense and complex; in fact, more than 100 aromatic compounds have been identified. Some of the most prominent are aromas of earth, butter, fruit, sulfur, and caramel.
Tuber Aestivum
The tuber aestivum variety is the truffle known as the summer truffle, since it is harvested during this season, approximately during the months of May to August.
Here are some characteristics to help you distinguish a Tuber Melanosporum truffle from a Tuber Aestivum:
- Tuber aestivum is known as the summer truffle, which is harvested approximately from May to September. In contrast, Tuber melanosporum is known as the winter truffle because it is harvested during the winter season.
- On the outside, both are black and rough, but the summer truffle has more pronounced roughness.
- Inside, the winter black truffle has a purplish-black hue with white veins. In contrast, the summer truffle has a light brown color with white veins.
- As for the aroma, it is much more intense in the black truffle, which is why it is more appreciated in cooking.
Tuber Brumale
The Tuber Brumale variety is one of the truffles most often confused with the black truffle, Tuber Melanosporum, since Tuber Brumale is also harvested in winter.
Here are some guidelines to help you distinguish a Tuber Melanosporum truffle from a Tuber Brumale:
- The Tuber Brumale is also harvested in winter, just like the black truffle, but it can grow in less calcareous soils and in places with more humid climates.
- When the truffle is mature, the gleba of Tuber trumale is more grayish in color, while in Tuber melanosporum it is purplish-black. Furthermore, the white veins of Tuber brumale are longer and less numerous than in the black truffle.
- The external roughness is less marked in the Tuber Brumale than in the black truffle.
- The aroma of Tuber brumale is less intense than that of the Tuber melanosporum variety, and therefore, it is less prized in gastronomy. For this reason, the brumale variety is typically used in the production of processed foods. Therefore, it is important to read the labels of these preserved products to ensure they identify the specific truffle variety.
- Tuber brumale is characterized by having a fragile, warty peridium that is not attached to the gleba and detaches with handling, unlike Tuber melanosporum.
- Under the microscope, the spores of Tuber brumale are smaller and more numerous in each ascus (5 on average in Tuber brumale, 3-4 in Tuber melanosporum), and are light brown or translucent. In contrast, in Tuber melanosporum, the spores under the microscope are darker or even opaque.
Tuber Indicum
Another variety that we must identify and differentiate is Tuber Indicum.
Here are some guidelines to help you distinguish a Tuber Melanosporum truffle from a Tuber Indicum:
- Tuber indicum is native to Asia and is commonly known as the Chinese truffle. Currently, it comes from the Chinese provinces of Yunnan and Sichuan, where it forms mycorrhizal associations with mountain pines at altitudes of 2,000 to 2,500 meters in a temperate climate.
- It is harvested during the winter, when the truffle is ripe from November to March, just like the tuber melanosporum.
- Tuber indicum has a black peridium, but slightly pinkish and flesh-colored veins, which is why it can be confused with Tuber melansporum.
- Tuber indicum has little aroma and very little flavor. It has a somewhat corky texture, which is why it is less appreciated gastronomically than Tuber melanosporum.
- The Tuber indicum variety can also be found preserved or in processed products. Since it lacks the aroma and flavor of Tuber melanosporum, it is purchased at a much lower price than the black truffle. Therefore, it is important to read the labels of the products we buy to know which variety of truffle we are paying for.
Tuber magnatum
Tuber magnatum is another highly prized truffle that we need to know about. However, in this case, it doesn't resemble Tuber melanosporum, as it is known as the white truffle.
- The gleba is initially whitish, then yellowish-pink, ochre-brown, reddish-brown, often with flesh-red spots. Veins are white, fine, and numerous.
- The peridium is attached to the gleba, is light ochre in color, sometimes olive green. It has a smooth appearance, but the granulation is visible up close.
- Tuber magnatum is the most expensive truffle in the world, reaching a high price, which varies depending on annual productivity, but is always several thousand euros.
- It is collected in the wild mainly in the Italian Piedmont and so far has only been found in Italy, Croatia (Istria), Slovenia.
- Its fruiting season runs from early autumn through winter. It is harvested from October to December, depending on the weather. Because it is such a short season and grows wild, it is exclusive, valuable, and commands a high price.
- It grows in symbiosis with holm oaks and oaks, hazel trees and poplars.
- It has an incredible and spectacular aroma.
Now you know the most outstanding truffle varieties on the market and what their differences are with the black truffle, Tuber melanosporum, in terms of quality, price, appearance or harvesting season.
At Sentidos Truferos we have created a platform where all those who love black truffles have their place: whether you are a truffle grower , a distributor or a consumer of black truffles, at Sentidos Truferos we offer you tools that will facilitate your way of relating to the sector.
