Truffles Galore! There are only nine species of truffle that the Fraud Suppression Agency will allow to be sold in France. Here they are -- with the dates they're in season: White truffle, October 1 - December 31 (Tuber Magnatum Pico) Valuted black truffle, November 15 - March 15 (Tuber Melanosporum) Summer black truffle, May 1 - November 30 (Tuber Aestivum Vitt.) Summer black truffle, October 1 - December 31 (varieta Uncinatum) March truffle, January 15 - April 30 (Tuber Borchii Vitt. o Tuber Albidum Pico) Winter black truffle, January 1 - March 15 (Tuber Brumale Vitt.) Musky truffle, November 15 - March 15 (Tuber Brumale Vitt., varieta Moschatum De Ferry) Smooth black truffle, September 1 - December 31 (Tuber Macrosporum Vitt.) Common black truffle, September 15 - December 31 (Tuber Masentericum Vitt.)

My first encounter with the "black diamond," as black truffles have come to be named, occurred while I was a university student studying in Paris. A friend of mine and I lived on crèpes and baguettes for two months so that we could scrape together enough francs to dine at a three-star (Michelin Guide) restaurant.

Our restaurant of choice was L'Ambroisie, a beautifully decorated space spread over two small salons in a restored townhouse on the Place des Vosges, where chef Bernard Pacaud prepares exquisite dishes highlighted by subtle yet powerful flavors. When all was said and done (and eaten!), the one aspect of that meal that I will never forget is how it served as an overwhelming introduction to the intensity and mystique of black truffles. With each dish that came out, we discovered a new aspect of this versatile fungus: a langoustine appetizer was served in a delicate truffle sauce; the poularde en demi-deuil, hommage à Mère Brazier, was basically poached chicken with black truffle slices slipped under the skin; and even the wine, Le Musigny (1971) from the Comte de Vogüé, had scents of truffles in its bouquet. In fact, by the end of the meal, our senses had been so infused with les truffes that we swore the chocolate dessert had been laced with truffle dust!

Needless to say, I have since become a great fan of these intensely fragrant mushrooms. Researchers have found that more than 100 aromatic substances exist in the truffle. Humans find truffles earthy, garlicky, pungent, and mushroomy, but truffles also emit the odor of certain mammalian steroids, explaining why they have sometimes been considered aphrodisiacs.

Truffles, which can run in the neighborhood of $500 per pound and up, are not only expensive because of their flavor and odor, but also because they are extremely rare and difficult to harvest. They cannot be cultivated, for one thing; they must be found in the wild. To make matters worse, unlike other mushrooms, truffles are subterranean and resemble clumps of dirt. A trufficulteur needs to search in the forest with a well-trained animal -- usually a dog or, oddly enough, a pig -- to root out these elusive treasures. (For the record, pigs have keener noses -- but dogs are less likely to eat their quarry, once they've found it.)