Rapid isolation, cultivation methods and utilities of truffle fungi

A method of making a truffle-flavored food product comprising:

• obtaining a spore-producing fruiting body of an ascomycetous fungus from soil, wherein the ascomycetous fungus is a Tuber spp. or an Imaia spp.;
• scraping the inside of the spore-producing fruiting body of the ascomycetous fungus to collect a fruiting body sample;
• placing the fruiting body sample on a first surface comprising a first nutrient substrate, wherein the first nutrient substrate comprises:
• a simple sugar,
• a botanical isolate, and
• agar;
• incubating the fruiting body sample on the first nutrient substrate with an antimicrobial volatile mixture until mycelium formation, wherein the antimicrobial volatile mixture is derived from the volatile organic compounds produced by Muscodor crispans, and wherein the presence of mycelium indicates new fungal growth;
• and
• transferring the new fungal growth into a second surface comprising a second nutrient substrate to obtain a pure culture of the ascomycetous fungus;
• incubating a portion of the pure culture of ascomycetous fungus with fruit, nut, grain, or a portion thereof for at least 2 weeks to produce an inoculated botanical sample;
• and
• processing the inoculated botanical sample into a food product.