What types of truffle are there?

Many different types of truffles can be found in nature. There are almost hundreds of different species classified, but only a clear minority of them are considered edible. In fact, most of them are toxic or possess organoleptic properties that make them unusable in the kitchen.

In Italy, the law allows the collection and sale of nine species of truffle, all of which are edible species. We therefore limit ourselves to the culinary interesting ones. The exact Latin name (tuber) of the truffle is important in order to avoid misunderstandings. For example, "black truffle" can refer to the Tuber melanosporum, i.e. Périgord truffle, or the summer and Burgundy truffles, although they have significant differences in taste and price.