As a rule of thumb, allow 5 to 10 g of fresh truffle per person. With white Alba truffle, 3 to 5 g is enough; with the milder summer truffle you can be a little more generous. What matters is less the weight than the thickness of the slices — shaved wafer-thin, a small truffle goes a surprisingly long way.
How much per person — by variety
- Summer truffle: about 10 g — mild aroma, can be used more generously
- Burgundy truffle: 5 to 10 g
- Périgord truffle: 5 to 10 g
- White Alba truffle: 3 to 5 g — very intense
So for dinner for two, 10 to 20 g is usually enough. A 20 g tuber is smaller than most people expect — roughly the size of a walnut.
Why a truffle slicer?
You can’t get evenly thin slices with a knife. A truffle slicer cuts them so thin they are almost translucent — and that is exactly when the aroma unfolds best, because the surface area is large relative to the weight.
The blade is adjustable: finer for white truffles, slightly thicker for black ones.
How to shave truffle properly
- Take the truffle out of the fridge shortly before serving.
- Clean it dry with a soft brush — don’t wash it.
- Hold the slicer directly over the plate, not over the chopping board. The aroma is volatile and should end up on the dish.
- Light pressure is enough. Lay the tuber flat and draw it across evenly.
- Wrap up any leftovers and put them back in the fridge.
When does the truffle go onto the dish?
Always at the end. Heat destroys the volatile aroma compounds — which is why truffle is not cooked with the food but shaved over the finished, warm dish. The residual heat is enough for the scent to unfold.
One exception is the Périgord truffle: it tolerates gentle heat and can be tossed briefly in butter. White truffle never.
What goes well with it
Truffle needs fat and starch as a carrier. Classics are pasta with butter, risotto, mashed potato, beef fillet and simply a fried egg. The calmer the base dish, the better the truffle shines — strong spices overpower it.
The most common mistakes
- Cut too thick. Thick pieces taste of little and feel chewy.
- Cooked with the dish. After five minutes in the pan, the aroma is gone.
- Shaved too early. Shaved truffle loses its scent within minutes.
- Base dish too heavily seasoned. Garlic, chilli and herbs compete with the truffle.
Which variety is fresh when is shown in our seasonal calendar. How to keep the tuber until you use it is explained in How to store truffles.
Our current range: Fresh Truffles. We supply larger quantities for restaurants and the hospitality trade on request.