FRESH TRUFFLES, SLICERS & GASTRONOMY

Fresh Truffles — Buy Fresh Black, White & Summer Truffles in the UK

Fresh truffles are one of the most prized ingredients in the culinary world — wild fungi with an aroma and flavour so intense that a few grams can transform a dish entirely. FINE & WILD sources fresh truffles from trusted hunters and suppliers in France, Italy, and Australia, buying and holding stock at our UK facility so every order is graded, checked, and dispatched directly from us. We carry fresh black winter truffles, white truffles, Burgundy truffles, and summer truffles, alongside a year-round range of truffle oils, sauces, and accessories.

Truffles are seasonal and wild-foraged, so availability changes throughout the year. Our stock reflects what's currently in season — check the collection above for what's available now.

What Are Truffles?

Truffles are underground fungi that grow in symbiosis with the roots of certain trees — primarily oak, hazel, and lime. They cannot be seen above ground and are traditionally located using trained dogs (historically pigs) that detect their powerful aroma through the soil. Every truffle is wild or semi-cultivated; they cannot be factory-farmed or mass-produced, which is why they remain rare and expensive.

The flavour and aroma of fresh truffles are extraordinary — earthy, musky, and deeply complex, with notes that vary by species, season, and terroir. No two truffles are identical. The aroma is volatile, meaning fresh truffles are at their best within days of harvesting and lose intensity quickly. This is why freshness and speed of delivery matter enormously.

Types of Fresh Truffle

Black Winter Truffle (Tuber Melanosporum)

The most celebrated cooking truffle. Known in France as truffe noire du Périgord and in Italy as tartufo nero pregiato, this is the truffle that built the reputation of the entire category. Black winter truffles have an intense, complex aroma — earthy, chocolatey, and deeply savoury — with a firm flesh marbled with fine white veins. They respond well to gentle heat, which amplifies their flavour, making them ideal for shaving into risottos, pasta, scrambled eggs, and sauces. Season runs from December through to March in the Northern Hemisphere, with peak quality typically in January and February. Sourced from France and Italy, and also from Australia during the Southern Hemisphere winter (June–August), extending availability beyond the European season.

White Truffle (Tuber Magnatum Pico)

The most expensive and intensely aromatic truffle in existence. Italian white truffles — particularly those from Alba in Piedmont — are the pinnacle of truffle gastronomy. The aroma is extraordinary: pungent, garlicky, and almost overwhelmingly complex, with notes of honey, aged cheese, and fermented earth. Unlike black truffles, whites should never be cooked. They are shaved raw at the table over finished dishes — pasta, risotto, fried eggs, fonduta — where the heat of the food releases the aroma. Season runs from October to December, and availability is limited and weather-dependent. These are a true luxury.

Burgundy Truffle (Tuber Uncinatum)

A close relative of the summer truffle but harvested later in the year, from September through to December. Burgundy truffles have a more pronounced flavour than summer truffles — nuttier, more aromatic, with a darker marbled interior. They work well both raw and with gentle heat, and offer an excellent balance of quality and value during the autumn months. Sourced from France and Italy.

Summer Truffle (Tuber Aestivum)

The most accessible fresh truffle, available from May through to September. Summer truffles have a milder, more delicate flavour than their winter counterparts — subtly earthy and nutty with a lighter aroma. The exterior is dark and knobbly like a black winter truffle, but the interior is paler with less defined marbling. They're best used generously, shaved over salads, pasta, and light dishes, or infused into butter and cream where their gentle flavour can permeate. An excellent introduction to fresh truffles for anyone yet to try them.

Truffle Seasons at a Glance

How to Use Fresh Truffles

Fresh truffles need very little done to them — simplicity is everything. The golden rule: use truffles with dishes that have a fat base (butter, cream, cheese, eggs, oil) because fat carries and amplifies truffle aroma. Avoid strong competing flavours. The truffle should be the star, not a supporting act.

For black winter truffles, gentle heat intensifies the flavour. Shave or grate over risotto, scrambled eggs, fresh pasta, or mashed potato just before serving, or fold into a warm cream sauce. For white truffles, never apply heat — shave raw directly at the table over the finished dish. For summer and Burgundy truffles, shave generously over pasta, salads, or into softened butter.

A truffle slicer is essential for getting the paper-thin shavings that maximise surface area and aroma. A fine Microplane grater works for incorporating truffle into sauces and compound butters.

How to Store Fresh Truffles

Fresh truffles are perishable and lose aroma daily. Store them in the fridge, individually wrapped in kitchen paper inside an airtight container. Change the paper daily as it absorbs moisture. Used this way, most fresh truffles will keep for 5–7 days, though they are always best as fresh as possible. Do not store truffles in rice — a common myth that desiccates the truffle while flavouring the rice at the truffle's expense.

If you want to preserve truffle flavour, place a fresh truffle in a sealed container with eggs for 24–48 hours. The aroma penetrates the porous shell, producing extraordinarily flavoured eggs for scrambling or omelettes — with no truffle wasted.

Truffle Products — Year-Round Alternatives

Fresh truffles are seasonal, but truffle flavour doesn't have to be. We carry a range of high-quality truffle products from Urbani and Plantin — two of the most respected names in the truffle industry — that deliver genuine truffle flavour throughout the year.

Our Urbani truffle oils are made with natural truffle extract, not synthetic flavouring. The black truffle oil adds depth to pasta, risotto, and finishing, while the white truffle oil provides the pungent intensity of white truffles without the seasonal limitation. We also carry truffle sauces, truffle pesto, truffle butter, truffle honey, preserved whole black truffles, black truffle paste, and black truffle juice — each offering a different way to bring truffle into your cooking year-round.

Truffle Slicers & Accessories

A proper truffle slicer produces the paper-thin shavings that maximise aroma and presentation. We carry a range of Sanelli Ambrogio slicers in stainless steel, rosewood, and olive wood, alongside a truffle presentation board with glass dome for serving at the table, and a truffle brush for cleaning fresh truffles before use.

Buying Fresh Truffles in the UK

FINE & WILD sources fresh truffles from trusted hunters and suppliers in France, Italy, and Australia. Every truffle is hand-graded for quality at our facility — we check aroma, firmness, and condition before anything ships. We buy and hold stock, so your truffles are dispatched directly from us, not shipped from overseas. Fresh truffles are delivered via next-day courier, dispatched the same day for orders placed before 2pm.

Because truffles are wild-foraged and seasonal, availability and pricing fluctuate throughout the year. We update our stock in real time — if a truffle variety is listed on this page, it's available now. For orders over £225, weekday delivery is complimentary.