Truffle

Truffle describes a group of edible mycorrhizal (subterranean) fungi (genus Tuber, class Ascomycetes, division Mycota).

Introduction

Truffles are found anywhere from 2 to 16 inches below the ground, usually in a circular formation about 4 to 5 feet from the base of an oak tree. A number of varieties exist including desert truffles found in the Middle East and the Mediterranean.

The ascoma (fruiting body) of truffles is highly prized as food. In 1825 Brillat-Savarin called the truffle "the diamond of the kitchen" and praised its aphrodisiac powers. (Physiology of Taste Meditation vi). While the aphrodisiac characteristics of truffles have not been established, it is still held in high esteem in colloquial French, northern Italian and Istrian cooking, and in international haute cuisine.

Edible usage

Because of their high price and their pungent taste, truffles are used sparingly.

White truffles are generally served uncooked and shaved over steaming buttered pasta or salads. White or black paper-thin truffle slices may be inserted in meats, under the skins of roasted fowl, in foie gras preparations, in pâtés, or in stuffings. Some specialty cheeses contain truffles too.

The flavor of black truffles is far less pungent and more refined than their white cousins. It is reminiscent of fresh earth, mushrooms, and when fresh, their scent fills a room almost instantly.

truffle cutted.jpg

Methods of production

Truffles long eluded techniques of domestication, as Jean-Anthelme Brillat-Savarin noted with his characteristic skepticism:

"The most learned men have sought to ascertain the secret, and fancied they discovered the seed. Their promises, however, were vain, and no planting was ever followed by a harvest. This perhaps is all right, for as one of the great values of truffles is their dearness, perhaps they would be less highly esteemed if they were cheaper.

"Rejoice, my friend," said I, "a superb lace is about to be manufactured at a very low price."

"Ah!" replied she, "think you, if it be cheap, that any one would wear it?" (Brillat-Savarin, 1825)

However, contrary to stubborn legends, truffles can be cultivated. As early as 1808, there were successful attempts to cultivate truffles, known in French as trufficulture. People had long observed that truffles were growing among the roots of certain trees, under oak trees in particular, and indeed scientific research has proven that the truffles live in symbiosis with the host tree. In 1808, Joseph Talon, from Apt (département of Vaucluse) in southern France, had the idea to sow some acorns collected at the foot of oak trees known to host truffles in their root system. The experiment was successful: years later, truffles were found in the soil around the newly grown oak trees. In 1847, Auguste Rousseau of Carpentras (in Vaucluse) planted 7 hectares (17 acres) of oak trees (again from acorns found on the soil around truffle-producing oak trees), and he subsequently obtained large harvests of truffles. He received a prize at the 1855 World's Fair in Paris.

These successful attempts were met with enthusiasm in southern France, which possessed the sweet limestone soils and dry hot weather that truffles need to grow. In the late 19th century, a dramatic epidemic of phylloxera destroyed much of the vineyards in southern France. Another epidemic destroyed most of the silkworms in southern France, making the fields of mulberry trees useless. Thus, large tracts of land were set free for the cultivation of truffles. Thousands of truffle-producing trees were planted, and production reached peaks of hundreds of tonnes at the end of the 19th century. In 1890 there were 750 km² (185,000 acres) of truffle-producing trees.

In the 20th century however, with the growing industrialization of France and the subsequent rural exodus, many of these truffle fields (champs truffiers or truffières) returned to wilderness. The First World War also dealt a serious blow to the French countryside, killing 20% or more of the male working force. As a consequence of all these events, newly acquired techniques of trufficulture were lost. Also, between the two world wars, the truffle fields planted in the 19th century stopped being productive. (The average life cycle of a truffle-producing tree is 30 years.) Consequently, after 1945 the production of truffles plummeted, and the prices have skyrocketed, reaching the zenith that we know today. In 1900 truffles were used by most people, and on many occasions. Nowadays, they are a rare delicacy reserved for the rich, or used on very special occasions.

In the last 30 years, new attempts for mass production of truffles have been started. Eighty percent of the truffles now produced in France come from specially planted truffle-fields. Nonetheless, production has yet to recover its 1900s peaks. Local farmers are opposed to a return of mass production, which would decrease the price of truffles. However, prospects for mass production are immense. It is currently estimated that the world market could absorb 50 times more truffles than France currently produces. There are now truffle-growing areas in Spain, Sweden, New Zealand, Australia and North Carolina. For those interested in truffle cultivation there are a number of companies who offer suitable technology and can provide 'truffle-trees' and expertise in the establishment and running of truffle plantations ( link to truffle cultivation experts).

Looking for truffles in open ground is almost always carried out with specially trained pigs or dogs. Pigs were the most used in the past, but nowadays farmers prefer to use dogs, which do not eat the truffles. Both pigs and dogs have keen senses of smell, but while dogs must be trained to the scent of truffles, female pigs or sows need no training whatsoever. This is due to a compound within the truffle which has an uncanny resemblance to the sex pheromone of male pigs or boars to which the sow is keenly attracted. It may have been the strange attraction that pigs have to these fungi which prompted its discovery by early human populations.

Kinds of truffles

The Tuber melanosporum black truffle comes almost exclusively from Europe, essentially France (45% of production), Spain (35%), and Italy (20%). Small productions are also found in Slovenia and Croatia. In 1900, France produced around 1,000 metric tonnes (1,100 short tons) of Tuber melanosporum. Production has considerably diminished in one century, and nowadays production is usually around 20 metric tonnes (22 short tons) per year, with peaks at 46 metric tonnes (50 short tons) in the best years. 80% of the French production comes from southeast France: upper-Provence (départements of Vaucluse and Alpes-de-Haute-Provence), part of Dauphiné (département of Drôme), and part of Languedoc (département of Gard); 20% of the production comes from southwest France: Quercy (département of Lot) and Perigord.

The Tuber magnatum pico white truffle is mostly found in northern and central Italy^*, while the Tuber Borchi, or whitish truffle, is found in Tuscany, Romagna and the Marche.

The Tuber Aestivum summer truffle is harvested from May until December, while two lesser-used truffles include the Tuber Macrosporum black truffle and the Tuber Mesentericum scorzone truffle.

World's Most Expensive Truffle

As truffles are considered a delicacy their prices can be high at times. The world's most expensive truffle was a 2 pound 10 ounce rare White Alba truffle. At the size of a small handbag, it sold for $112,000.(From Article on truffles from The Telegraph)

External links

Edible mushrooms

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