White Alba truffle (Tuber magnatum Pico) has a short window: it is available fresh from roughly October to December, and not after that. If you want to try it, you are choosing not just a product but a moment in time — and you face three questions: which species it really is, how much you need, and what a price per gram means.
The window: October to December
Unlike shelf-stable truffle products, fresh Alba truffle follows the harvest. Within the season, availability varies with rain and temperature, and the price with it — which is why there is no fixed annual price list for fresh truffle, only weekly prices.
If you are flexible, autumn offers a second option: the Burgundy truffle is in season from September to January, nutty and bold, and costs a fraction of the price. Which variety is fresh when is shown in our seasonal calendar.
Tuber magnatum Pico — and what it is not
“White truffle” appears on several things that are not the same. Three distinctions worth knowing before you buy:
- The bianchetto or spring truffle (Tuber borchii) is also white, but milder and considerably cheaper, and it is in season in spring. Our white truffle sauce Tartufo Italiano contains it in equal parts with Alba truffle — a good sauce, but not fresh Alba truffle.
- Tuber indicum is black and comes from Asia. In the trade it is more often confused with the Périgord truffle than with Alba; that is why we label the species explicitly.
- White truffle flavouring contains no pieces of truffle, just aroma compounds in oil. It goes a long way and keeps well, but it is no substitute for fresh truffle. How to spot this in the ingredients list is explained in Genuine truffle oil or truffle flavouring?
How much for how many people
Alba truffle is the most intense of our varieties, so you need less of it than any other: 3 to 5 g per person is enough. A 25 g piece is therefore enough for about five to six plates, and 50 g for a dinner with ten guests.
For comparison: with the milder Burgundy truffle you allow 5 to 10 g per person, and with summer truffle a little more generously still. How thinly to shave it and when the truffle goes onto the dish is explained in Shaving truffles.
Why it is priced per gram
Every tuber grows differently: size, shape and ripeness vary from piece to piece, and there is no standard size. That is why fresh truffle is sold by weight rather than by pack.
With us, white Alba truffle starts at 10 g for €39.00; 100 g costs €390.00 — that is €3.90 per gram. Burgundy truffle is around €0.59 per gram — so Alba truffle costs a good six times as much. (As of November 2026; prices for fresh truffle depend on the season.)
For a first try, 10 g is a sensible amount: two to three plates, enough to understand what this truffle is all about, without planning a whole menu around it.
Making sure it arrives fresh
Fresh truffle is a highly perishable natural product. We ship Tuesday to Thursday by DHL Express, chilled in a polystyrene box with ice packs, bedded on wood shavings — so that no parcel is in transit over the weekend. If you are planning a weekend dinner, it is best to order early in the week.
White Alba truffle loses its aroma faster than black truffle and should be used within a few days. How to store it until then — kitchen towel, closed jar, change the towel daily — is explained in How to store truffles.
On the plate
White truffle is never heated. It goes raw and shaved wafer-thin onto the finished, warm dish; the residual heat is enough to release the aroma. Classics are tajarin, risotto, fried egg and mashed potato — dishes that step back and let it do the work. Heavy sauces and too much cheese mask it.
A truffle slicer with an adjustable blade is essential: you can’t cut slices like that with a knife, and the thickness of the slice decides how much aroma is released.
In short
- Season: roughly October to December, prices change weekly
- Amount: 3 to 5 g per person — less than for any other variety
- Not to be confused with: bianchetto is milder and cheaper, Tuber indicum is black, flavouring is not truffle
- Shipping: Tuesday to Thursday, chilled by express — order early in the week
- Preparation: shave raw over the finished dish, never cook it
To choose: fresh white Alba truffle from 10 g, or the full overview under fresh truffle. For restaurants and retailers we deliver on a fixed weekly day — terms under Truffle wholesale.