What Should I Know About the Black Summer Truffle? Also known as Tuber Aestivum Vitt., it’s a summer variety of black truffles. In Italy, where they’re collected, Mother Nature arranged that summer truffles are found in the same places as winter fungi. Summer truffles have a black firm and lumpy surface. Their outer skin is quite tough, but this adds a special crisp to the mushroom when it’s sliced or shaved over a dish. A good fresh summer black truffle should have a pale beige interior permeated with white veins and a mild smell of mushroom, nut, and wet earth. How to Use Summer Black Truffles in Cooking? Because summer truffles feature a very subtle aroma, you’d better add them fresh to your dishes. So, high temperature, which is an essential tool for cooking, won’t destroy the special flavor of the fungus. This very flavor will complement the general savor of your pasta or baked potato with some mushroomy and nutty notes. Before adding truffles to the dish, make sure they are clean. If there’s any dirt or gravel on a mushroom, brush it gently with a toothbrush or soft damp tissue. To remove anything like little stones, lodged in the crevices of the mushroom, use a short sharp knife. Truffles best reveal their flavor in paper-thin slices or shaves. We recommend using a special truffle shaver or mandolin. A very sharp knife will also help, but the slices won’t be much uniform. How many truffles will be enough for a perfect dinner? Because the aroma of summer black truffles is less intense than that of their winter cousins, generous portions are welcome. The summer mushroom won’t overshadow the smells and tastes of other flavorful ingredients. Rather, it’ll unobtrusively assimilate into your dish and share its best with it. To highlight the truffle flavor in the dish, you may also use some truffle butter or truffle oil.
