"Kitchen diamond," "black pearl of Périgord," "devil's mushrooms," or "vegetation created by the rains," the Truffle has been talked about since Theophrastus. In France, it first appeared on the table of Francis I.
The truffle is the result of the fruiting of an underground fungus. It comes from a mycelium, thin filaments, which live in association with the roots of a tree. This association produces mycorrhizae, from which new filaments escape, from which a new truffle will be born. After several months, when the truffle is ripe, it releases spores that germinate and produce the first filaments that penetrate the tree's rootlets. It is a true symbiosis between the fungus and the tree. Mycorrhizae produce sugars, vitamins, or hormones that benefit the tree.
Gastronomy
They are cooked with foie gras, pâtés en croûte, or in terrines. They are also mixed with stuffings or certain sauces, such as Périgueux sauce, or with pasta, gnocchi, or vol-au-vents. One of the simplest recipes, well known to mushroom producers, consists of sprinkling small shavings into an omelet. You can also enclose fresh eggs with a piece of truffle in an airtight box placed in the refrigerator. The eggs will quickly take on the scent of the truffle and can be enjoyed in an omelet. Truffle oil makes it easier to use: a drizzle over pasta, rice, in an omelet, or a meat jus.
Botany
Wild truffles are harvested mainly near oak trees on various well-drained calcareous soils. Since the 1980s, truffles have been cultivated in almost all calcareous regions and today supply 80% of French truffles on the market.
“Caveurs” or “rabassiers” (truffle pickers) are increasingly using truffle dogs rather than pigs, which are more difficult to control. The older generations prefer to search “for the fly” attracted by truffles. Truffle growers must contend with boar competition.
Gastronomic Varieties of Truffles
- Tuber melanosporum Vitt., known as the black Périgord truffle, with a very strong aroma and a very pleasant flavor. It is found in the Dordogne, the Lot, and generally in the great Southeast of France, but also in Spain, Italy, and ex-Yugoslavia. It is most in symbiosis with white oak or holm oak. Ripening period: mid-November to end of March.
- Tuber æstivum Vitt., known as the May truffle, with a fine and light aroma of undergrowth and a light forest mushroom taste. Ripening period: early May to end of September.
- In Italy, Tuber magnatum Pico, known as the white Alba truffle. Ripening period: early October to end of December.
- In Italy, Tuber borchii vitt. or Tuber Albidum Pico, known as the white March truffle. Aroma reminiscent of garlic. Ripening period: early January to end of April.
- Tuber uncinatum Chatin, known as the Burgundy truffle, which resembles Tuber aestivum but with a more pronounced aroma and taste. It is the most widely distributed throughout Europe and lives in symbiosis with a greater variety of trees (oak, hazel, hornbeam, beech, and pine). It is also less demanding in terms of heat and soil quality. Ripening period: mid-September to end of January.
- Tuber mesentericum Vitt., pleasant aroma of licorice, almond, and bitter taste. Ripening period: mid-September to end of December.
The price depends on its size, species, and quality. It can reach several hundred euros. The rare white Alba truffle, which only grows in Piedmont (Italy), has exceeded €15,000/kg in years of poor harvests. A truffle usually weighs only 20 to 100 grams, but some exceptionally exceed a kilogram.
Although the areas planted with trees increased significantly in France in the 20th century, soil degradation and a certain overexploitation led to truffle production falling from 1000 tons/year in the 1900s to 50 tons/year in the 2000s, despite increasingly scientific reasoned cultivation methods. This production is very sensitive to climatic hazards. While the Lot was renowned for its truffles around 1900, the top 2 producing regions in France were Burgundy and Poitou.
