The seasons of truffle: black summer truffle (tuber aestivum)
Ennio Flaiano wrote “There is only one season: summer. So beautiful that the others circle around it”. And, in fact, this might be the most anticipated moment of the year, with its good weather and coveted holidays. This is the season of relaxation and outdoor activities, while food biodiversity is abundant and gives us many fresh and unique ingredients. Our lifestyle changes along with our eating habits, preferring fresh products from our land or from the places we visit.
Summer is also the season of Tuber aestivum -the black summer truffle also known as Scorzone- growing from May throughout August in almost every part of Europe, as well as in some regions of Northern Africa and Turkey. Irregularly rounded, sometimes shaped like a kidney, with a cavity or basal hollow, its diameter ranges from 1 to 10 centimeters, it has a highly wrinkled peridium, it’s rough to the touch, black or brownish and its gleba ranges from yellowish to hazel, marbled by many whitish veins.
When it comes to soil, Scorzone is less demanding than other species of truffle, and it is very common in the deciduous woods. It might be less regarded than its “brothers” since it’s not so difficult to find.
Nonetheless, chefs demonstrate that its uses are many and they enhance the feeling of literary feeding on the summer season, thanks to its intense perfume and its delicate taste, making it an ingredient able to create fanciful and imaginative recipes, mixing the products of different territories. For instance the Tuna tartare with truffle and caviar by Chef Fabrizio Facchini. A classical proposal in its procedure, but fanciful and rich when it comes to the ingredients, as it mixes black summer truffle with other precious elements as fresh tuna, lemon caviar and ice plant, together with chervil and chili that dilute the richness of the dish by giving it acidity and freshness.
Another example is the Rosé mushrooms parfait with Sherry sauce and black summer truffle, a dish that Chef Jacques Pepin serves on special occasions. Elegant and with a deep flavor, it is based on rosé mushrooms – but you can also use white ones- growing at the end of the summer, and Scorzone truffle.
It is made by mashing the mushrooms and the skin of the black summer truffle, adding cream and eggs and cooking it just like a pudding, in a water bath. At this point, the parfait should be covered with a demi-glace flavored with the remaining truffle and a Sherry reduction.
We mentioned only two of the many proposals enhancing the freshness of the ingredients and making black summer truffle the undisputed and versatile protagonist of recipes able to conquer every palate.
Recipes taken from the publication: 170°Anniversary. Urbani Tartufi. Le stagioni del tartufo. Cap. Estivo, Slow Food Editore
