Truffle Mushrooms: Rare Delicacy

Truffles grow in Asia, Europe, North America, the Middle East and North Africa, but the most desirable ones are white truffles from Italy and black truffles from the southwest of France. These rare delicacies are some of the most expensive naturally occurring foods in the world, and can cost as much as $450 per pound. Harvesting season is from September to May, with individual truffles growing to be as big as a man's fist.

While truffles have a very distinct odor, as they are fungi (attached to trees) after all, it is that same pungent aroma that gives them their unique taste and aids in harvesting. However, this smell only develops in mature truffles. Hence, harvesting is an exact science helped along by inoculating young trees with truffle spores. Even then, it takes seven years before truffles grow, with a maximum of 30 years of harvest time per tree.

Traditionally, female pigs are the best at sniffing out truffles underground because they will only get excited over mature fungi. Since pigs have a tendency to eat the truffles, merchants also use dogs because canines can be trained to detect truffles in exchange for an edible reward. Other harvesters dig truffles up themselves by watching for truffle flies, but it is hard to determine in this case if the truffles will be mature enough to have developed their distinct taste.

While truffles need to age to develop their taste, once harvested, they will quickly lose their flavor. The best wholesalers will store truffles covered with rice in refrigerated rooms and deliver them overnight to the stores. While you can cook other mushrooms, truffles will lose their flavor when heated.

The white truffle (Tuber magnatum) from Alba, Italy is considered the most superior, with the black truffle (Tuber melanosporum) from Perigord, France coming in at a close second. In the United States, the Oregon truffle is giving the white Italian truffle a run for the money in taste and popularity, albeit at only $150 per pound.