Pound for pound truffles are one of the most expensive gourmet foods you can purchase. And rightfully so, these little fungal fruiting bodies are hard to come by. Because truffles can only be grown in specific climates in certain seasons, demand always exceeds supply and the result is high prices.

Just how much can truffles run you? The answer depends on what you purchasing. Truffles can be purchased whole, shaved or extracted into an oil, butter or paste. Fresh, whole truffles will cost the most and can fetch $250 for an ounce or up to $4,000 for a pound.

Since truffles are best when they are fresh you need to make your purchases during the correct season. But depending on what type of truffle you are looking for and where it's coming from the seasons will differ.

1. Summer Truffles - The black summer truffle can come from, northern Italy, central Europe and the UK. As you can probably guess, summer truffles are typically harvested from June to November.
2. Winter Truffles - Black winter truffles typically come from Italy and are harvested from November to February.
3. White Truffles - White Alba Truffles are harvested in Italy from October - December.
4. Oregon Truffles - Oregon truffles can come in black or white but black is much more common. These truffles are grown in the US and are available Mid December through Mid March.
5. Perigord Truffles - These truffles are considered by many to be the finest black truffle available. Depending on availability they are imported from France, Italy, or Spain from December - February.
6. Burgundy Truffles - Often called the Autumn truffle, these truffles are available from Italy from October through January.

Here are the online properties that sell fresh truffles:

Gourmet Food Store

Along with fresh truffles, the gourmet food store has a large selection of international specialty foods such as caviar, cheese, foie gras and pate, gourmet chocolates, oils and vinegars, smoked salmon, specialty meats and teas.

Earthy Delights

Earthy Delights offers wild mushrooms and other seasonal wild-harvested items, fresh specialty produce, fine hand-crafted cheese, aged balsamic vinegar, exotic spices and hard-to find ingredients to the professional chef and the at-home culinary artist.

Marx Foods

Until 2007 Marx Food's only customers were 400 of the top restaurant chefs in the country. Traditionally they were a boutique high-end restaurant distributor but now they offer the same great selection of fine foods to home chefs.