Tuber Magnatum Pico

Season: from October to January

Origin: Istria

The Istrian white truffle Tuber Magnatum Pico is one of the most renowned in the world, and gourmets and culinary connoisseurs are increasingly attracted by this amazing truffle.

It is the most exclusive edible truffle in the world. Magnatum Pico connects with roots of poplar, willow, hazel, oak and hazel trees and the time of its harvest is very short – from October to December.

Its skin (peridium) is smooth and ochre yellow or olive yellow in colour, and sometimes it can reveal a more rustic cracked area or light red spots. The gleba (fleshy inner mass) is firm and soapy in structure, at the beginning whitish and then pale yellow, ochre brown, reddish brown, streaked with many thin white lines.

Intensive in scent and strong but pleasant in flavour.

Cleaning

• The truffle should only be cleaned a few minutes before using it, under cold water with a small brush.
• As the truffle's quite delicate, you don’t want to lose precious chunks of it, so be sure to clean the truffle gently.

Serving

• To get the most out of a white truffle, it's best served as simply as possible—not cooked, but grated or finely slicedover a warm dish, which brings out its aroma.
• Ideal with pasta, rice, eggs, raw meat dishes and fish dishes.
• To appreciate the taste of the truffle at its best it should be consumed as soon as possible (in a few days).

Preserving

• Wrap each truffle in paper without removing the ground dirt.
• Change the wrapping every day.
• Store in the fridge (+2°C/+4°C) in a container which must be kept open to allow the truffle to “breathe”. The aroma released during the maturation tends to be absorbed by milk, butter, cheese and eggs stored near the truffle.

Note

Every day a truffle is out of the ground, it loses some weight. As the truffle is a natural product this is a perfectly normal procedur of the natural development of truffles.