Great question. There are dueling legends. The first story takes place during Christmas time 1895 when French patissier Louis Dufour created the chocolate treat. Needing a name, he thought the uneven brown orbs with their dusty coating looked like beloved black truffles (mushrooms that grow underground). Hence the name. Another origin story says the legendary French chef Escoffier created the first chocolate truffles and, seeing their similarity to the fungi, gave them the same name.