Useful Tips on Buying and Storing Truffles

Do you know the secret to getting the best out of a truffle’s flavor and aroma? It’s in the way you purchase and store your truffles. You need some techniques to make sure that your truffle is in best condition and your truffle recipes will stand out. Here are some helpful tips on buying and storing truffles.

Buying Truffle

• Ask the vendor or sales clerk to make a small slice out of the truffle so that you can view its meat and judge if it is in good condition.


• Choose truffles that have been cleaned. A truffle’s dirt or cleanliness has nothing to do with its freshness, smell, and flavor. So go for the clean ones. Not only does it make you pay less for a lighter pack of truffles, but it also allows you to see what you are actually buying.


• Check the truffles for softness and firmness. Truffles with soft spots tend to have worms in them. Avoid buying such truffles. Also, don’t buy truffles that are rubbery, slimy, or spongy.


• If you are going to buy summer truffles, it must be golf ball-sized with only minor flaws. 


• Choose truffles that have dark exterior colors and white or light color in their exterior.


• They should also smell musky or earthy for white truffles and pungent for black truffles. If you can’t smell anything or you smell something like ammonia, then look for other truffles.


• If you buy ripe or mature truffles, eat them as soon as you can.

Storing Truffle

• Chefs and truffle experts advise against storing or preserving truffles, as it causes them to dry out and lose their flavor as well as aroma. 
Although it is better that truffles are consumed shortly after you purchase them, you can store them for a short time, like three to five days. 


• Wash the truffles thoroughly with clean water. Be sure they are clean because you will use them unpeeled.


• Brush truffles with soft brush to eliminate soil deposits and then cover each truffle with dry paper towel to seal their natural flavor. Place the wrapped truffles in an airtight jar and store it in the refrigerator. Don’t store them in room temperature.


• Truffles with pungent flavor such as winter varieties can be stored in whole eggs or uncooked rice that can absorb excess flavor. 


• If you want to freeze the truffles, you can keep them in olive oil before doing that. Make sure that the truffles are 100% covered in oil. This storage method will prevent freezer burn and capture the aroma of the truffle into the oil, hence the truffle aroma.


• Never slice, shave, or grate the truffles until you are ready to use them as ingredient for your dishes. 

Purchasing and storing truffles involve a great deal of care and a bit of effort. Of course, you want the best flavor and aroma out of your truffles, so it really pays to be picky and careful when you buy and store them.
