Périgord black truffles: season, hunting and how to eat them

A truffle is a fungus growing underground in symbiosis with tree roots: oak, hazel and sometimes other broadleaved trees. The fungus helps the tree obtain water and minerals; the tree supplies sugars. Grass often dies above the truffle mycelium, forming a “burnt” circle, or brûlé, which tells the truffle grower where to look.

Black truffles are also called Périgord or French truffles. Outside is a black, knobbly skin; inside, dark flesh with white veins that brown on exposure to air.

• Maturation: truffles form in spring and grow underground throughout summer.

• Harvest: November to March in the northern hemisphere. The best are found in midwinter, December–February.
• Truffle hunting with visitors is also possible only in those months.

You cannot see a truffle, only smell it. Truffle hunters therefore work with trained dogs; in the past they used pigs, which found truffles but tried to eat them.

The hunt begins early in the morning. The dog runs through the truffle grove, sniffs and starts digging where it senses the fungus. The hunter stops it, carefully clears the soil and removes the truffle; the dog receives a reward. Finding the first truffle is a moment guests remember for years.

After the hunt, thin slices are tasted immediately on bread with butter and salt.

• They are almost impossible to grow to order. Trees inoculated with mycelium are planted, but the first truffles take years and the harvest depends on the weather.

• Harvests have fallen. France harvested around 1,000 tonnes of black truffles in 1937; today the figure is many dozens of times lower.
• The season is short, and fresh truffles last less than a week.
• Demand is enormous: restaurants around the world.

Today France supplies around 45% of the world's black truffles, Spain around 35% and Italy around 20%.

Avoiding substitutes

The similar-looking Chinese truffle, Tuber indicum, has almost no aroma and costs a fraction of the price. Its skin is smoother and reddish-brown. Summer and winter truffles differ in their veins, which stay white, while Périgord truffle veins brown. Buy from a truffle grower, a truffle market or a trusted seller.

• Winter truffle markets in Sarlat, Périgueux and other towns, where growers sell directly.

• Sarlat's truffle festival, held every winter.
• Truffle farms, with hunts and tastings.
• Preserved truffles and truffle products, available year-round in shops and markets.

• Fresh truffles: five to seven days in the fridge, wrapped in paper towel, changed daily, in a sealed jar.

• A trick: put raw eggs in their shells in the jar; after a day or two they absorb the aroma, making an excellent truffle omelette.
• Preserved truffles: up to a year.

Truffles like fat and simple ingredients that do not mask their aroma:

• on bread with salted butter;

• omelettes or soft-boiled eggs, Périgord classics;
• mashed or baked potatoes;
• pasta with butter and Parmesan;
• foie gras with truffle, a festive classic.

Grate or thinly slice the truffle just before serving. Black truffles can be warmed gently to strengthen their aroma.

Supermarket “truffle oil” is usually flavoured with a synthetic substance rather than truffles. For the real taste, you need the real fungus.

• Mature red wine, Burgundy, Bordeaux or Cahors: its earthy notes echo the truffle.

• Mature or vintage Champagne, with truffled eggs and pasta.
• Mature white Burgundy, with creamy dishes.

In Périgord, truffles are part of the winter table:

• truffle omelette, omelette aux truffes, the classic served on farms after a hunt;

• truffled mash and pommes de terre sarladaises, potatoes fried in duck fat with garlic and parsley, plus truffles in season;
• truffled foie gras, a festive starter;
• chicken or capon with truffle under the skin, a Christmas dish;
• truffled Brie, with a layer of grated truffle.

Tip: fats bring out truffle best, butter, cream, egg yolk and duck fat. Hot sauces and strong spices overwhelm it.

Truffles are very aromatic. Five to ten grams are enough for a portion of omelette or pasta. One walnut-sized truffle, 30–40 g, serves dinner for four to six people. Even at a high price per kilogram, a portion therefore costs less than you might think.

• Aroma: strong and clean, woodland, earth and cocoa. If it has no smell, do not buy it.

• Firmness: it should be hard, without soft patches.
• Cut surface: dark flesh with fine white veins.
• Soil: a little on the skin is normal, but sellers should not add weight with mud.
• Origin: good markets have inspectors checking truffles, and sellers explain where they came from.

Most truffles today come from plantations rather than the wild: farmers plant oaks and hazels whose roots have already been inoculated with mycelium. The first truffles appear after five to ten years, and harvests depend on weather: a rainy summer means a good season, drought a bad one. Planting truffle groves began in the 19th century; today there are plantations in France, Spain, Italy and Australia.

People ate truffles in antiquity, but Périgord truffles became truly famous in the 19th century, when gastronomes called them cuisine's “black diamond”. France also learned to plant truffle groves then: farmers noticed truffles growing beneath oaks raised from the acorns of truffle-producing trees. By the early 20th century, France harvested hundreds of tonnes a year. Wars, rural depopulation and abandoned groves then caused harvests to plummet, explaining today's prices.

Périgord's winter truffle markets are a distinctive sight. Hunters arrive with cloth-covered baskets, and a rich woodland scent fills the air. At many markets, inspectors first check species, cut surface and smell. Bargaining is quiet and deals often use cash. Buyers include restaurant chefs, locals and visitors. Even without buying, it is worth coming for the atmosphere.

The local pairing is Bergerac and Cahors wine: red Cahors from Malbec, with dark plum and earthy notes, suits truffled duck; sweet Monbazillac suits truffled foie gras. With truffled eggs and pasta, choose mature white Burgundy or vintage Champagne.

In summer, try the summer truffle, Tuber aestivum. Milder and cheaper than the black truffle, it has a nutty aroma and is used in salads, pasta and sauces. It is a good introduction, but true Périgord black truffles are for winter.

1. Coming for fresh black truffles in summer. Périgord black truffles are available only from November to March.
2. Buying “truffles” from a random stall. You may get Chinese truffles.
3. Cooking truffles for a long time over high heat. The aroma disappears.
4. Keeping them for weeks. Fresh truffles last five to seven days.
5. Thinking truffle oil is truffle. It is usually flavouring.

Day two begins before dawn in the forest with a professional truffle hunter and dog, tasting fresh truffle on the spot, followed by Beynac Castle and an evening Bergerac wine tasting. → Dordogne food and wine tour · What to see in the Dordogne · Dordogne region