Tuscan Truffles Tuscan truffles look like Italian white truffle and taste like garlic. Their soft flesh has white and chocolate brown color, while their outer skin is muddy tan and chestnut-colored. 6. Oregon White Truffles Harvested from October to February, Oregon white truffles grow in northern California, British Columbia, western Cascade mountains, and Pacific Northwest. When cooking with truffles, there are several guidelines in order to enhance or heighten the flavour. Keep the flavour of the truffle as the center of the dish. Do not overwhelm it with food with strong flavours. Fats like butter, oil and even cheese could bring out the flavour of the mushroom. To bring out the flavour of the truffle more, limit the quantity to 8-10 grams of truffle per person. They can be found under the roots of oak, elm, chestnut, pine and willow trees. There are just few trees which are not associated to truffle growth, like maple and cedar trees. If they are underground, how would you find these treasures? Truffles, when they mature, would develop a strong scent which can be detected by animals. - the Oregon brown truffle or the Leucangium brunneum which has an exterior with reddish-brown color along with a grayish mottled interior. It is used in dishes and specialties requiring garlicky flavor and aroma. - the Oregon black truffle or the Leucangium carthusianum. Formerly called Picoa carthusiana, this type of truffle is less common compared to the Oregon white truffles. There are also other types of Chinese Truffles including the tuber melanosporum which are usually made into truffle extracts and is sold at a high price; the tuber himalayensis which looks very similar to the tuber melanosporum an is only harvested in the Chinese Himalayas; the tuber sinensis, which are also found in high places and the Chinese summer white truffle. In 2007, a 3.3 pound white truffle was bought by billionaire Stanley Ho for $330,000. In 1999, a 2.86 white truffle was sold for $212,000. Why is it so expensive? Because they are very hard to find. Since they are grow underground and among roots of trees, truffle hunters would usually have an assistance of a pig or a truffle-sniffing-dog to find these belowground mushrooms.