I'm scared to be fooled with the price of truffle

It is true that talking about the price of truffle without having clear the concepts of quality is a complicated subject. It's like talking about the price of a car without taking into account any differentiator attribute. Before talking about the price kilo of truffle it must be clear the concept of quality or main qualities that we can find in the market. The problem is that there are many companies and people with little professionalism who sell the mixed qualities, even with different species, that seek to attract the potential buyer, as can be a restaurant, with a seemingly very attractive price with respect to the consolidated distribution companies.

The first thing we should know about truffle is that in order to make a good selection it is essential to wash it completely in order to see the defects and to detect those pieces that are really valid for the consumption in fresh and which are not. It is literally impossible, whatever the experience of the coach, to make a good selection without a previous washing and drying of the truffles. It is the only way to detect if there are other species, which on many occasions grow naturally in the same truffles, or if the firmness, aroma and skin of the truffle allow it to be a good example for marketing in fresh.

The different qualities are Extra, First, Trozo and small black truffle, as we explained in another article. Basically the qualities are tied to the shape and caliber of the truffle and not so much to its flavor or aroma, which is very similar among all the qualities.

The black truffle quality EXTRA is the one that has regular shape, it is known as golf ball, and it is the one that allows to show in a room in a restaurant to the customers, since it is the way that everyone expects a good truffle. It is considered to have to be 95% whole, with a maximum of 5% of the damaged surface and round shape. This quality of truffle is about 5% of all the truffle that is produced and its price kg reaches more or less 20% or 30% more than the first truffle, quality that we will take as a reference. It is obvious that when this quality is marketed, it is proven that the aroma is good. From Laumont we recommend buying a small percentage of extra truffle and complement the rest of the order you may need a restaurant with truffle first or truffle chunk. Generally this quality is only marketed for calibers above 30 grams, so that their value has the desired effect. The regular form of the truffle allows laminarla with a mandolin and make round and beautiful sheets of the beginning at the end.

The EXTRA truffle also has a lot of value for customers who must have a long duration of truffle until their consumption. Since it has practically no defects in the exterior of the skin, its preservation is longer.

It is very important to understand that very few companies market this quality, and it is very common for non-professional sellers to add the word "EXTRA" to any truffle to give more value to their merchandise. But these attributes described above for EXTRA quality have nothing to do with what they offer.

The black truffle quality FIRST is the most abundant and is considered to have 80% of the undamaged surface. Her main difference with the extra truffle is that her form is irregular and to present in a room is not so showy. Equally the aroma or taste of this truffle does not have to be superior or inferior to the others.

THE BLACK Truffle quality TROZO are truffles that have 50% of the whole skin or are split truffles. The price of this truffle is 20% or 30% lower than the first quality. They are usually very mature truffles that there is a small part that does not serve for fresh marketing and you have to remove this small part and go to the industrial circuit. From Laumont we recommend for all applications that do not require to show in the room this type of truffle because in many cases the aroma and maturity of this quality are superior to the EXTRA or the FIRST. At the time of your selection we can clearly see its interior and aroma, and allows a much more transparent and reliable selection than in the most expensive qualities. One of the main disadvantages of the piece is that its shelf life is some days lower than the first quality. Due to its maturity it is preserved 4 or 5 days less than the first truffle.

The SMALL black truffle has a titration very similar to the TROZO truffle, 20% or 30% lower than the FIRST truffle. It's 8 to 20 grams truffles, tiny. Being truffles so small they are no longer spoken of form, almost 95% are round truffles without imperfections. Their appearance when they are small is that they do not like the final consumer, who always looks for truffles of more than 20 or 30 grams. The only obvious drawback of this truffle is that in a kg of small truffle there is much more outer crust of truffle. The truffle on the outside has roughness and the skin has a grain that if not cut well may be less pleasant in the mouth than the flesh inside the truffle. On the other hand, a very clear advantage of the small truffle is that its shelf life is considerably longer than any other because they are truffles with perfect skin that protect their interior very well.

Now we are clear that the truffle has to be landless and each quality can have a very different price. At the top we present a typical scandal of marketing fresh truffle made from the point of view of a professional company.

It is common to find in the market non-professional companies that sell the truffle of 600 euros direct from the field or with very poor selections made for 900 euros, generating a margin 4 times that which can generate an organized company and apparently selling 600 euros cheaper than the organized distributor.

In short, to be a good truffle buyer you have to know what you need, know in each case what quality our application requires and buy the right truffle to avoid loss and scandalous costs difficult to control.