The Italian summer Black Truffles (Tuber Aestivum), also known as "Scorzone", have a very rough texture and are dark brown or black in colour. However, they have a unique and soft taste. Black summer truffles are much subtle in comparison with white winter truffles. It's recommended to eat black truffles when they are still fresh and raw, without cooking them. You can shave them into small pieces and add them to pasta, omelettes, scrambled eggs, risottos, etc.
Hunting season for black truffles starts in May and lasts until the end of August or early September. The best time to start hunting is one hour before sunrise, so don't forget to take truffle-sniffing dogs with you! There is a particular breed of Italian water retrievers, Lagotto Romagnolo, who are trained for hunting truffles. The best areas to find truffles are in the province of Ascoli Piceno in the Marche region, and in the municipalities of Marcerata, San Gineso, and Roccafluvione.
