On Food and Cooking

remains renowned for its black winter truffles,
Tuber melanosporum, and northern and
central Italy for its white truffle, Tuber
magnatum Pico. Both are in great demand, in
limited supply, and so quite expensive. Their
flavor can be bought more reasonably in the
form of cooked whole truffles or truffle paste,
or truffle-infused oils, butter, and flours,
though some of these may be flavored
artificially. There are a number of other
truffle species harvested in Europe, Asia, and
North America, but they’re not as flavorful.
Unripe truffles of any species will have little
flavor.
The flavors of black and white truffles are
quite distinct. Black truffles are relatively
subtle and earthy, with a mix of a dozen or so
alcohols and aldehydes, and some dimethyl
sulfide. (They also contain small amounts of
androstenone, a steroid compound also found
in men’s underarm sweat and secreted in the
saliva of the male pig, where it prompts