Italian truffle (Tuber magnatum)
- Department: Ascomycota (Ascomycetes)
- Subdivision: Pezizomycotina (Pezizomycotins)
- Class: Pezizomycetes (Pezizomycetes)
- Subclass: Pezizomycetidae (Pezizomycetes)
- Order: Pezizales (Pezizales)
- Family: Tuberaceae (Truffle)
- Genus: Tuber (Truffle)
- Type: Tuber magnatum (Italian truffle)
- True white truffle
- Truffle Piedmontese – from the Piedmont region in Northern Italy
Truffle italian (lat. tuber magnatum) is a mushroom of the genus Truffle (lat. Tuber) of the Truffle family (lat. Tuberaceae).
Fruiting bodies (modified apothecia) are underground, in the form of irregular tubers, usually 2–12 cm in size and weighing 30–300 g. Occasionally there are specimens weighing 1 kg or more. The surface is uneven, covered with thin velvety skin, not separating from the pulp, light ocher or brownish in color.
The flesh is firm, whitish to yellow-gray, sometimes with a reddish tint, with a white and creamy brown marbled pattern. The taste is pleasant, the smell is spicy, reminiscent of cheese with garlic.
Spore powder yellowish-brown, spores 40×35 µm, oval, reticulate.
The Italian truffle forms mycorrhiza with oak, willow and poplar, and is also found under lindens. It grows in deciduous forests with loose calcareous soil at various depths. It is most common in northwestern Italy (Piedmont) and adjacent regions of France, found in Central Italy, Central and Southern France and other areas of Southern Europe.
Season: summer – winter.
These mushrooms are harvested, like black truffles, with the help of young pigs or trained dogs.
White truffle (Choiromyces meandriformis)
Troitsky truffle is also found in Our Country, edible, but not valued like real truffles.
Truffle Italian – Edible mushroom, a delicacy. In Italian cuisine, white truffles are used almost exclusively raw. Grated on a special grater, they are added to sauces, used as a seasoning for various dishes – risotto, scrambled eggs, etc. Truffles cut into thin slices are added to meat and mushroom salads.