Italian white truffle or Alba truffle (Tuber magnatum), the grand duke of truffles, hides its power in an innocuous beige blob no more exciting to behold than a mammoth wad of gum. Who would guess that what lurks within the plain wrapper is the priciest fungus on earth? Its cost rests on its rarity (it grows in a limited area of northern and central Italy and in Istria, Croatia) and its stunning aroma. However subjective aroma may be, no one could confuse T. magnatum with any other truffle in the market. To my senses, garlic and raunch are what hit first, followed by softer complexities.
