Buying fresh black truffle for your meal

Identify the product

For scrambled eggs, risotto or poultry, begin with the product you will actually cook. Fresh Tuber melanosporum is an ingredient to choose for a specific date. A jarred preparation or flavoured product needs a different reading: check its name and ingredients. Ask for the species to be clearly identified by its Latin name.

Ask whether the price is for a net weight, one piece or a pack. An illustrative photograph does not guarantee the weight or origin of the item supplied.

Choose for your intended use

Tell the seller how you will use the truffle. For regular slices at the table, the shape of a specimen may matter; for a chopped preparation, several pieces may provide the required weight. Size is the weight of one truffle, while your recipe needs a total weight. A large specimen alone does not answer the question of quality.

When collecting, ask to see and smell the offered specimen. Consider firmness, aroma and general condition together. Article 3 of the fresh-truffle decree describes, among other requirements, sound, firm and mature products. A photograph helps prepare a choice, but does not convey aroma or replace checking the batch handed over.

• Légifrance: fresh-truffle quality, Article 3

Cheap truffles: compare like with like

Compare the same species, storage condition and net weight. A small size lowers the purchase total without proving a lower price per gram. A truffle preparation is not an equal-quantity replacement for a fresh truffle.

The House’s price varies with harvest and market conditions. Availability and price are confirmed before collection by appointment in Drôme provençale. Delivery can be requested at the buyer’s expense, with destination, cost and timing confirmed before payment.

Storage and cooking after purchase

Read the supplied storage instructions and plan to cook the truffle promptly. Our storage guide explains refrigeration. For a first recipe, scrambled eggs provide straightforward quantities and steps, with truffle added off the heat.

If the product seems spoiled or differs from the order, contact the House and read Returns and refunds.

• Store fresh truffles from the moment they arrive

Can you buy directly from the producer?

Yes, batches from our own fresh harvest are sold directly to consumers and gathered daily during the season. We also work with partner truffle growers in southern Drôme and the Massif d’Uchaux. For your meal, specify the presentation and weight needed; have the producer, origin and availability of the offered batch confirmed. A photograph of a previous harvest does not reserve pieces for your next purchase.

For a direct sale, ask who harvested the proposed batch, where it came from and when it was harvested. Daily gathering during the season describes the grower’s work; it does not, on its own, give the harvest date of every piece offered.

Giving fresh truffles or a gift box

Before choosing a gift box, ask when the recipient can receive, chill and cook it. The gift date and meal date are not always the same. Then choose the weight and presentation with the House by quotation. A box presents and protects the gift; it does not extend fresh-truffle storage life.

Wine shops and delicatessens: preparing a resale enquiry

To offer fresh truffles in a wine shop or grocery, start with the intended sales pace, storage on site and information for customers. State formats, quantities and desired dates. We consider enquiries by quotation according to possible batches; also identify who will receive the product and how origin and use information will reach customers.