White "Alba" Truffles (Tuber Magnatum Pico)

White "Alba" Truffles (Tuber Magnatum Pico) Availability: Oct. – Dec.

•The most prized among the edible truffles. The fruity body is usually a lobed, spherical or oval shape. These truffles can be as small as peas or as large as potatoes, and can weigh up to a kilogram. The skin is smooth and of an ochre-yellow or olive-yellow color, and can sometimes exhibit a rusty brown cracked area or bright red spots. The ripening period runs from September to December. White Alba Truffles are found principally in Emilia Romagna, Piemonte, Marche, Molise and occasionally in Lombardia, & Veneto.

Fresh Truffle Storage and Handling: After buying fresh truffles, your precious purchase should be cleaned of any earth by rubbing it gently with a small brush, such as a toothbrush, under running water. Fresh truffles are living, delicate organisms that must be consumed as soon as possible as they tend to dehydrate (at room temperature they lose 1-2% of their weight every day) and lose their scent. To properly store your truffle, before or in between uses, wrap it in a dry paper towel, which you should change every day. Then place the truffle in a glass jar, close tightly and store in the least cool part of the refrigerator somewhere between 39-46 degrees Fahrenheit. This storage method guarantees the quality of a prized white truffle will stay for at least a week and that of a black truffle for two weeks