1 Truffles are a type of mushroom or fungi that grow under the surface of the soil, usually close to tree roots.
2 There are around 30 different types of truffles in Italy but only a handful are edible.
3 Truffles will only grow in woods where there are certain specific species of trees including oak and poplars. The truffles form a symbiotic relationship with the trees and would not grow without them.
4 The white truffle season runs from September to December but other types of truffle can be hunted at different times of the year.
5 Truffle prices can vary greatly from year depending on weather conditions, rainfall, summer temperatures and hunt success.
6 A truffle’s flavour depends on its moistness and freshness. Truffles lose their flavour after just a few days as they dry out so always buy fresh for the best flavours.
7.Truffles grow in harmony with a host tree, enabling the tree to take in phosphorus while in return the truffle receives sugars enabling it to grow.
8.
The ancient Greeks thought truffles were made when lightning hit damp soil
9.
Truffles are mushrooms which are believed to have started growing underground
to beat forest fires, drought and severe cold
10.
Italians consider the white truffle (tuber magnatum) to be superior in taste to
the black truffle (tuber melonosporum)
11.
Pigs, trained dogs and goats are used to sniff out truffles which produce a
chemical almost identical to a sex pheromone found in male pig's saliva. Men
secrete the same chemical in their underarm sweat
12.
The truffle has been described variously as a diamond of cookery, fairy apple,
black queen, gem of poor lands, fragrant nugget and the black pearl.
13.
The truffle farmers of Italy guard their properties during the height of the
season with armed security, so precious is the truffle
14.
A rare Italian white truffle sold for £28,000 at a charity auction in 2004
15.
A fabled aphrodisiac, the black truffle's penetrating aroma led the Epicureans
to liken the scent to that of the tousled sheets of a brothel bed. In the
Middle Ages, monks were prohibited from eating truffles for fear they would
forget their calling.
www.wineandfoodtraveller.com
Wine and Food Traveller offers a range of tours including visits to private Truffle farms to experience the magic of this amazing "mushroom"
