Australia’s Winter Truffles are in Season. Get Some While You Can!

Although it’s summertime here in the United States, it is winter in Australia, where black truffle season is underway. The black truffle that grows so beautifully in Manjimup, Western Australia, is the exact same type (known to truffle geeks and chefs as Tuber Melanosporum) that is most famously harvested in Périgord, France.

photo by Brad A Johnson — Lola the truffle dog with her human, Adrian, at The Truffle & Wine Co. (Photo by Brad A. Johnson)

It’s easy to get hoodwinked with bad truffles these days. But these from Manjimup are really consistent. They are far superior in flavor and aroma than the ever-growing influx of black truffles now flooding in from China (and even a few new truffle farms in the U.S.). I’ve spoken to a quite a few chefs — like Josiah Citrin in Los Angeles — who believe the Australian truffles are actually more consistent than what they’re able to get from France.

France’s winter Périgord truffle season runs December to March; Western Australia’s season runs June through August, or sometimes into September if conditions are favorable. I visited the truffle farm of The Truffle & Wine Company (now called Truffle Hill) several years ago, and I’ve been hooked on these things ever since. The batch I received this week suggest that 2020 is a particularly good year. Ordinarily I celebrate truffle seasons with a group of friends, but thanks to the pandemic, this year’s indulgence will be more intimate. Order yours here.