The hunt for Sydney's best truffle dishes reveals one common cooking mistake

• 20 recipes to make the most of truffle season

There is something magical about Australia's truffle season. For just eight weeks each year, the winter frost calls forth a harvest of small, blackened fungi from an underground "orchard", invisible to all but the well-trained hunting dog.

"Farmers spend 48 weeks preparing for this moment," says Mate Herceg, head chef of Blackheath restaurant Blaq. "The amount of effort that goes into growing black truffles is extraordinary, that's why they're so expensive."

South coast truffle producer David Burdis, of Ganymede Truffles, expects the crop to be particularly good this year.

"We were a bit concerned about all of the rain, but based on what we've seen from the brulé [the 'burned' ring of vegetation around the trees, caused by truffle fungus], it seems the truffles haven't been affected," Burdis says.

"If anything, the truffles have probably had so much rain, they've happily formed. Truffles are basically the fruit of the fungus, so the water causes them to put on weight.

"We think it's going to be a good year."

The heavily scented Perigord truffles, with their distinct, white veins and earthy, sweet flavour, attract prices of up to $3 per gram on the retail market. An average-sized truffle, which weighs between 30 and 60 grams, can can cost up to $200.

Former Good Food Guide chef of the year Mark Best says the hefty price tag has resulted in the black truffle being absorbed into the "conspicuous consumption" movement, where an ingredient is valued more for its social media capital rather than its substance.

Flavour is the common casualty, as mountains of beautiful, black truffle shavings are heaped onto steaming bowls of pasta or risotto, with little consideration for the consequences.

"These days conspicuous consumption is on the rise – bumps of caviar, gold leaf – and truffles fit into that," Best says.

"People are doing this type of thing but it doesn't add to the dish. It gives them kudos amongst their friends or on Instagram."

It's a longstanding problem for the truffle. Late LA Times food reviewer Johnathan Gold famously referred to truffle oil as "the Heinz ketchup of the overbred" for its tendency to be overused in the fine-dining kitchens of the early '00s.

"Trying fresh black truffles for the first time is an amazing, bucket-list experience. I love the the way they can completely change the flavour profile of a dish," Herceg says.

"But there's absolutely such a thing as too much. People can get carried away with truffle shavings. If you add too much, the mouth-feel and flavour isn't as nice. It can become very pronounced, almost soapy, and ruin the other flavours in the dish."

Executive chef of Bentley Restaurant and Bar, Brent Savage, says shaving truffles onto a plate without further layering and reinforcing the flavour can be wasteful. The restaurant waits three or four weeks to buy into the season to ensure the truffles are ripe and their fragrance is long-lasting.

"We generally try to intensify the flavour by featuring the truffle multiple times throughout the dish," Savage says.

"It's such a short season, people want to indulge."

The Bentley Group's annual truffle menus feature fungi infused into ice-creams, butters, pastes and jus, and paired with everything from duck liver parfait, to Murray cod, to honey and mandarin ice-cream.

For home cooks, Best has created a truffle butter. It's made with the odds and ends of black Western Australian Manjimup truffles folded through Coppertree Farms cultured butter. Best says he likes it spread on crumpets with Vegemite, although a spoon or two could also jazz up scrambled eggs on a winter morning.

This winter, Blaq is hosting a three-course lunch showcasing truffles unearthed in Oberon, Lithgow and Canberra. Herceg will be poaching pears in truffle, lemon and honey-infused liquid; incorporating truffles into a bechamel sauce that will be rubbed over and baked into wheels of brie; and whipping it into a butter for later use.

At S'more, the new Castlecrag bistro opened by former Merivale chef Sam Young, truffle season is a highly anticipated event.

"It's a very special time. Nothing is more exciting to me than truffle season," Young says.

"We have a lot of fun ideas. I'm going to take some brie and infuse it with truffles by cutting it in half, shaving truffle inside the cheese, then wrapping it back up with cheesecloth and letting it age for two weeks."

Young also plans to create Sydney's first "truffle negroni" by infusing gin with fresh truffle shavings; to incorporate truffles into chicken and sweetcorn dumplings by creating a truffle, sweetcorn dashi; and to use truffle butter in a chicken roast, spreading it beneath the skin like a modern-day "chicken in mourning".

"As much as I love truffles I'm still aware that sometimes they don't belong in a dish," Young says.

"You're paying a lot of money for that. It shouldn't just be there for the sake of Instagram."

Young, nevertheless, will be offering punters the chance to purchase whole truffles at the table and "shave as much as they want", throughout the month of July.

Where to try truffles in NSW this winter

Bentley Restaurant and Bar (27 O'Connell Street, Sydney)

The annual truffle dinner at Bentley Restaurant and Bar, held July 6, will feature truffles in every aspect of its decadent, three-course menu. Head chef Brent Savage pairs truffles with everything from lobster, to wagyu rib cap, to potato damper in a culinary celebration of one of the world's most expensive ingredients. Bookings essential. thebentley.com.au

Blaq (13-17 Brightlands Avenue, Blackheath)

The first truffle lunch of the season offers diners the opportunity to taste fresh, locally sourced truffles within just four days of their harvest, ensuring the earthy, sweet flavour is at its best. Head chef Matt Herceg will be incorporating truffles into a three-course menu of pan-seared scallops, roasted Riverina beef, and poached pears. Bookings essential. thekyah.com.au

S'more (79 Edinburgh Road, Castlecrag)

From mid-July head chef 'Big' Sam Young will be loading up on black truffles for his seasonal menu. This will be a truffle experience like no other, as Young incorporates a little bit of black magic into cocktails, desserts and cheese wheels. And if you want to experiment with truffle shavings, you'll have the opportunity to do so here by purchasing your own truffle from a yum-cha cart. smoresydney.com.au