Truffles are a delicate and rare type of edible mushroom, which are mostly grown in Croatia, France, Italy and Slovenia. They are also collected in Washington and Oregon states in US. Forming a symbiotic relationship with the environment, truffles grow underground among the roots of chestnut, elm, oak, pine and willows trees. The high price for truffles is due to the inability for humankind to grow them commercially or cost-effectively.

When in season, whole black winter truffles made from fresh black Italian truffles are chef's favorites. It gives an excellent aroma to dishes made of poultry, meat and in pasta. The season for fresh winter truffles runs from Thanksgiving to March. Because of its limited availability, this perishable item costs around USD 125 per Oz.

A buttery and creamy sauce can be made by fusing Italian truffles with the finest cheese from the Parmesan region. Cannelini Beans with White Summer Truffles is another delicacy made with five percent of white Italian truffle juice, white beans and water.

A more cost efficient way to give the dishes that special flavor that only truffle can offer is to use truffle juice by combining it with main courses and appetizers. By adding truffle juice the dishes become brilliant in seconds.

Fresh truffles are a highly seasonal and rare product, expensive and hard to acquire.

Fortunately, the intensity and pungency of the earthy truffle paste makes a great match to any number of bases such as butters, pastes and creams, which enables the chefs to add to their cuisine the distinct taste of truffles at a more economical cost price. Truffle paste on a peanut oil base makes a good start to creams and sauces.

Perigord black truffles of France are considered as the greatest truffles of the world. Rich butter made from French white truffle can fuse the intense and complex flavors of the French truffles perfectly. This butter can be added to any variety of dishes to transform it from an average food to an extraordinary one. Being very intense, only little of this butter is needed to add to other dishes. It can replace the use of regular butter too. To get best results, truffle butter should be added at the end of the cooking process.

Chocolate truffles comprise of a gooey sweet centre, coated in cocoa powder or chocolate, usually in a curved or spherical shape. They can have extremely varied fillings and may contain melted chocolate, cream, nuts, caramel, berries, almonds or other assorted sweet fruits, fudge, nougat or mint, toffee, mint, marshmallow, or chocolate chips. Even though they do not actually contain any truffle, they are so named because of their appearance.