What are truffles?
Truffles are a part of the fungi family and the round spud-like spheres are the spore bearing fruit of the fungus. Unlike mushrooms, truffles are grown exclusively underground, a part of a perennial network of underground mycelium. Confused yet? It’s ok, a lot is still unknown about them
Truffles have been a culinary delicacy for thousands of years and in fact, the Romans even enjoyed the taste and believed that truffles were created where lightning struck the earth. Since then, truffles have been a feature in international cuisine, especially in France and Northern- Italy. Some species of Truffle are some of the most expensive ingredients in the culinary world.
There are hundreds of species of truffles, existing on every single continent except Antarctica and even found in the desert. However, there are only a few species with culinary utility, the genus Tuber contains the most sought after from a culinary perspective.
Where are truffles found?
Truffles used in the kitchen are grown mostly in forestry areas, underground, connected to the roots of certain tree species like, Evergreen Oak and Hazelnut. These truffles live symbiotically with the trees because the truffles are extremely proficient at gathering nutrients and water in the soil, but since they grow underground they can’t convert the nutrients into sugars. So they trade their talents with the trees and help the trees to absorb nutrients in return the trees help convert the truffles nutrients into sugar.
Europe, the most valuable wild truffles are found in France and Northern Italy. The above photo is of Périgord, France. A region known for globally for their wild truffles and wines.
United States, the most valuable wild truffles are the white, brown, and black truffles found in Oregon and the Pecan Truffles found in the south/south eastern parts of the U.S.
Why are Truffles so expensive? Can you grow Truffles?
The process of domestication is extremely difficult, and even impossible for some varieties. This keeps the supply limited and the prices HIGH. A pound of certain black truffles can cost around $900, while white truffles are around $3,000 and have even been sold for $100,000+.
Truffles are not planted, instead roots are inoculated with truffle spores and planted in specific environments. Because the growth and lifespan of truffles is so random it is hard to generalize what conditions truffles require to grow abundantly, and professionals are still experimenting on ways to best domesticate certain species. These truffle farms are known at Truffleres.
Another contributing factor to the high cost of truffles is the length of time it takes for a truffle to fully mature. Truffleres are popping up nowadays in the United States, however, it may take a decade or longer before any truffles are actually found on the farm.
How are Truffles found?
If it wasn’t hard enough to grow the truffles, finding them (RIPE) is even a challenge in it’s own. Over the course of evolution, truffles have depended upon animals to spread the spores to new areas. As we mentioned earlier, truffles are the fruiting body of the fungus that carry the fungal spores (kinda like apples with it’s seeds). So only when a truffle generates the spores will it ripens, giving off a distinctive aroma and taste that attracts animals with keen senses of smell to their locals. The animals dig them up, eat them and drop them in new places where they can begin the cycle of life all over again and attach to new tree roots.
Truffles are only valuable when they are found ripe. When a truffle is dug up prematurely it will die and never reach it’s culinary potential. Since humans don’t have a keen sense of smell, for thousands of years we have relied on animals to locate truffles for us. Traditionally, pigs have been used however, they have a nasty habit of eating everything they come across including the truffles AND in some instances the fingers of truffle foragers.
Nowadays, many foragers utilize dogs that are scent trained to locate ripe truffles. A well trained dog is less likely to eat the truffle and/or bite a finger off. They are also content to work for a piece of cold cut turkey.
Want to teach your dog how to find truffles? Check out our guide-
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