The White Summer Truffle - Tuber AESTIVUM
Tuber Aestivum, commonly known as the white summer truffle or St. John's truffle. It is part of the Tuberaceae family in the Ascomycetes class. This mushroom is hypogeous and lives in symbiosis with a tree (oak, hazelnut, pine, lime...). It is therefore mycorrhizal, which means that it needs a host tree, and saprophytic, as it feeds on organic matter from decomposing plants. This truffle is present in a large part of our territory and in many countries in Europe. We find it on cultivated plots of aestivum, on former plots of tuber mélanosporum and in the wild in abandoned plots or woods and coppices, on limestone and clay soils. The tuber is spherical or oblong and brownish-black in colour. It can be recognised by its surface, which is pitted with prominent prismatic or pyramidal warts. The external appearance of this truffle closely resembles the melanosporum, but when you look at the flesh (glèba), it is creamy-white to brown, with white veins. Do not confuse it with the Italian White Truffle, whose real name is Magnatum pico, which has a smooth peridium and whose price is very, very high. In the summer, the aestivum is very pleasant grated or sliced thickly for a crunchy taste, on a salad or in pasta.
The gleba (the flesh of the truffle) is beige to brown, more or less yellowish for mature truffles. In immature truffles, the flesh is pale to white. It has a pleasant delicate aroma of wild mushroom.
The White Summer Truffle is very similar to the Burgundy Truffle Tuber uncinatum. No difference has been demonstrated by molecular biology techniques. However, according to an interprofessional agreement made within the framework of the French Federation of Truffle Growers in 1996 and updated in 2006, these truffles are classified as related but not identical. Their differences lie in the ripening dates (from 15 May to September for T. aestivum, and from 15 September to the end of January for T. uncinatum); the darker colour of T. uncinatum and the stronger flavour of the latter.
- Origin of the product : The truffles come from the farm, from wild areas and/or from suppliers in our region, Quercy Blanc, Lot and neighbouring areas.
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