Black or white with a marbled interior, truffle is rare, aromatic and enhances every dish it touches. It’s Truffle season here in Melbourne Australia and we could not resist attending the Truffle Melbourne festival last weekend at the Queen Victoria Market to buy this underground treasure. It marked the end of the school holidays here in Victoria when there is always a little extra expense however well worth it. Read our blog for recipes to use delicious truffle and more.

Why do truffles taste so good?

Truffles are the most prestigious type of fungus and precious fruit of the forest. Why do truffles taste so good? Firstly, there is something incredibly special about the fact that Truffles grow only in locations with the perfect temperatures (hot summers and cold winters). The soil characteristics need to be just right, that is free-draining soil with a high pH (7.5 -8.3) among the roots of trees (including but not limited to oak, chestnut or hazelnuts). It takes anywhere from 6 to 10 years to produce commercial quantities of Truffle. It is also a hidden underground treasure that requires the nose of dogs trained to recognize its characteristic smell to harvest it. Pigs are apparently more efficient at spotting truffle however given they also love to eat truffles, they are not a popular choice when it comes time to harvest. While mushrooms can be grown and served raw, sauteed, baked or grilled, Truffle is the kind of ingredient where less is more in terms of effort and other ingredients to serve it with. It shines with the simplest preparation and only requires a few grams per plate to provide aroma and flavour. Truffle is best combined with ingredients that will not overpower its delicate flavour as let’s face it, the Truffle needs to take centre stage. It also pairs well with herbs and autumn ingredients like mushrooms and chestnuts.

Truffle recipes

Before we reveal our Truffle recipe, I just wanted to highlight that Truffle should always be used raw and cut into very thin slices using a truffle slicer which enhances its intense flavour. If you don’t have one, buy a Truffle slicer on the Amazon website. They also sell truffle-based products to get the delight of truffle all year long, including when it is not in season. Buy a Truffle slicer from Amazon US or Amazon Australia and get your Truffle on today! If you live in Australia, now is the best time to enjoy this prestigious ingredient. Get your Truffle slicer out…. these recipes using delicious truffle are irresistable! Truffle pasta   Truffle mushroom pasta   Happy cooking X

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Vanessa Bottaro

Author, Founder and Creative Director at Italian Spoon

In my eyes, Italian cuisine is love on a plate.

Vanessa is Creative Director of the Italian Spoon website and Author of The Italian entertaining cookbook, a collection of home-style Italian recipes and tips for entertaining in true Italian-style. In addition to cooking and taking photographs, Vanessa writes the recipes and blogs to bring the love of Italian cooking to life! The collection of recipes and blogs on the website have been inspired by travels to Italy and desire to share what she has learnt from the great ‘Mamma’s and ‘Nonna’s in her life!

Vanessa is an entrepreneur and wife to husband Simone and the mother of two beautiful kids Dante and Mia. Even so she was born and lives in Melbourne Australia, Vanessa has a deep connection to Italy. Perhaps it is the food, or maybe it is because it is the place where Vanessa met the love of her life, Simone to whom she has been happily married for so many years.

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