Fresh Italian Black Autumn Truffles

Fresh Black Autumn Truffle - How to Use

Tuber Uncinatum. Delivered fresh and ready to use. Count 10 to 15g per person. No cooking required.

1. Unwrap it on arrival
Take the truffle out of its pouch as soon as it reaches you. Wrap it in fresh kitchen paper. Keep it in an airtight container in the fridge. Change the paper every day. Use within five days.

2. Do not wash it
Your truffles are cleaned before they leave us. They are ready to slice as they are. Never rinse them under the tap. Water shortens their life and dulls the aroma. If a little soil has worked loose in transit, brush it away dry with a soft brush.

3. Bring it to room temperature
Out of the fridge 20 minutes before you serve. A cold truffle smells of almost nothing. The aroma only lifts as it warms.

4. Shave, do not chop
Use a truffle slicer or a vegetable peeler. Paper thin, almost transparent. Thickness is wasted here. The aroma sits on the surface, so more slices beat thicker ones.

5. Add it at the very end
Shave over the plate once the dish is served. Never cook the truffle itself. Direct heat drives the aromatics off in seconds and leaves you with an expensive mushroom.

6. Give it warmth and fat to carry it
This is the step people miss. Truffle aroma is fat-soluble. It needs butter, egg yolk, cream, cheese or olive oil to travel. It needs gentle residual heat to volatilise. A hot buttered risotto, a soft scrambled egg, a plate of tagliatelle straight from the pan.

7. What to put it on
Risotto, tagliatelle, scrambled or fried eggs, mashed or baked potato, a warm soft cheese, a rested steak. Keep the dish plain. An autumn truffle is nutty with a faint garlic edge and a busy plate will bury it.

8. Make the leftovers work
Store the remaining truffle in the fridge with whole eggs in their shells, or with arborio rice, in a sealed container. Both take on the aroma within 24 hours. Use those eggs or that rice the same week.

How much per person
10 to 15g a head over a main course. A 30g truffle serves two to three. A 100g truffle serves a table of seven or eight.

A note on the season
Autumn truffle sits between the summer and the winter varieties in strength. It is aromatic rather than pungent, so it suits dishes where a winter truffle would dominate. Buy it for the dish you are making this week, not to keep.

Your fresh truffles are carefully wrapped in an absorbent paper towel and sealed inside an airtight pouch before dispatch. This protects their moisture levels, preserves aroma, and ensures they arrive in peak condition. Once delivered, remove the truffles from their pouch immediately. Wrap each one individually in fresh absorbent paper and place them in an airtight container in the fridge. Replace the paper daily to maintain optimal freshness. For the finest aroma and flavour, enjoy your truffles within five days of arrival.