What’s in Season – Truffles

It might come as a surprise, but we truly love Canberra’s winter here at the Market.  

There’s just so much to appreciate about chatting with farmers in the quiet, enjoying a hot cup of coffee from Jindebah Hills or Wagonga Coffee. Stallholders and marketgoers alike bustling about to get their hands on the region’s freshest winter produce—pumpkins and garlic for rejuvenating soups, high-quality meats for stews and casseroles, and of course the black pearls of Canberra winter: truffles. 

This year’s truffle season has officially kicked off at the Market, with offerings from our regulars—Terra Preta Truffles, Turalla Truffles, and La Truffiere—and keep your eye out for special offerings such as Truffle & Ricotta Gourmet Ravioli from Nonna Maria’s Pasta. 

In Canberra, we generally start seeing truffles become available from mid-June to mid-August. The local region produces some of the country’s best truffles due to our climate which almost perfectly matches that of the French truffle region (higher altitudes with sunny winter days and generally dry conditions). 

The variety we most commonly get around Canberra is the Tuber melanosporum, or fresh black winter truffles, which are very varied in size and shape and have a strong flavour that can be described as subtly sweet, savoury, and earthy with notes of mushroom, pepper, mint, and hazelnut.  

We have a number of stallholders that will be offering specialty truffle products using locally sourced truffles, such as crêpes with saffron poached pears with fresh ricotta and a generous shaving of truffles from Flat Out Creperie.