a fungus whose fruiting body grows underground and which constitutes a mysterious, costly, and delicate foodstuff.
One wonders whether President Truman ever received, and tasted, the largest truffle of which a record exists: a giant which registered over 2 kg (4 lb) on the scales. The Italian who dug it up in 1951 near Alba, in the heart of the Italian truffle country, sold it for 130,000 lire (equivalent, perhaps, to more than £3,000 now) and Goldschmied (1954) records that the businessman from Rome who bought it intended to offer it in homage to Truman. If he did, there would have been a pleasing contrast between gift and recipient; the simple eater from Missouri faced by a supreme example of the most expensive, subtle, and mysterious of the foods known to man. The Roman donor could also have reflected that he was giving to the leading personality of the New World the one Old World food which he could not possibly, at that time, grow on his own territory.
It is true that some species of truffle exist in N. America, including Tuber texense, an edible white truffle used by some restaurateurs. But no one has claimed that this, or any other truffle outside Europe, is a serious rival to the black truffle of Périgord, T. melanosporum, or the white truffle of Alba, T. magnatum.
The black truffle is probably at its best in Périgord, where conditions conspire to bring it to perfection, but it does grow in other parts of France, and also in Spain and Italy. The white truffle of Italy is found in a number of localities but mainly in the vicinity of Alba in Piedmont where the principal market is held. These two species stand alone, in excellence as in fame.
It was not always so. A Roman living 1,800 years ago who wished to honour his own emperor might well have offered him a specimen of the desert truffle which was brought to Rome from Arab lands, especially N. Africa. There are three genera, Tirmania, Terfezia, and Tuber, all known as terfez by the Arabs (faqqa in the Gulf States), still found and prized as a seasonal delicacy, especially after winter rains, in the region of Kuwait and the Persian Gulf, and in the spring and early summer in Morocco. Tirmania and Terfezia truffles have a light flavour and are eaten as a vegetable, usually cleaned, sliced, and fried. Since they are dug up from the sand, they tend to be difficult to clean completely. The genus Tuber is more akin to the European truffle. Annual production used to be approximately 1,000 tonnes in Morocco but has lately dwindled owing to drought.
In ancient times, and indeed until about 100 years ago, no natural historian understood what truffles are and how they grow. Theophrastus thought that they (and other fungi) were produced by the rain of thunderstorms; Dioscorides that they were a kind of root; Pliny that they were ‘callosities of earth’; and Plutarch that lightning was a necessary condition of their formation. Even in the 18th and 19th centuries, when some learned men were beginning to see the truth, others continued to uphold quite false theories.
In reality, a truffle is the fruiting body of a fungus which grows wholly underground. Truffles are not the only underground ‘mushrooms’, but they are the only valuable ones of this habit. The plant itself consists of an extensive web of filaments so fine as to be invisible. And these filaments, known as the ‘mycelium’, link up with the roots of certain trees and shrubs in what is called a ‘mycorrhizal’ relationship. This relationship benefits both parties. From the point of view of the tree, the filaments of the truffle become extensions of its own roots and enable it to draw up more sustenance, notably minerals, from the soil. For the truffle, the tree gives nourishment in the form of products synthesized by its leaves. This remarkable exchange is not achieved by mere contact between the mycelium of the truffle and the roots of the tree. They are organically bonded together by a special growth called a ‘mycorrhizal’.
So it is clear that the cultivation of truffles, which for obvious reasons has long been attempted, is on the one hand difficult (how to reproduce a natural phenomenon of such complexity?) but on the other hand possible (since young trees in a mycorrhizal condition can be transplanted). The would-be cultivator has to remember that the system only works with some kinds of tree (notably, but not exclusively, certain kinds of oak), in a limited range of climates, and on certain types of soil (a limestone base being preferred).
Other factors are also relevant. Rebière (1967), the doyen of truffle experts in the Périgord, lived not far from the little truffle museum in the village of Sorges. One striking feature of the areas where truffles grow is the ‘scorched earth’ area round a tree which has a mycorrhizal relationship with truffles, especially the black truffle. Virtually no other plants, except for those which need no water, can grow in such soil and the underground progress of the truffle mycelium can be charted by the spread of this barren ground. Rebière recorded some intriguing information about the ‘shock treatment’ which will help restore a former truffière to productivity again. Roadworks help, especially if heavy bulldozers are used. And having a local basketball team use a piece of ground for their games is another favourable factor.
The mycelium of the black truffle starts active growth in May and continues until July. The fruiting bodies are white when they first begin to form, then successively greyish and reddish, by which time they have reached full size. Finally, when they reach maturity, they are nearly black and veined white inside. There is often a long pause, perhaps of several months, between the time when a truffle reaches its full size and the time when it matures. This accounts for the length of the season, extending over five winter months.
Most truffles remain well underground. Skilled hunters may be able to detect from signs on the surface that a truffle is below; but the aid of animals or insects has to be invoked to ensure a full harvest. The aroma of a mature truffle can be detected by a pig or a dog, and it is these animals which have traditionally been trained to do the work. The pig has some disadvantages, especially for the truffle-poacher, since separating it from a truffle it has found is awkward; dogs are nimbler and less possessive.
The insects which help belong to the species Helomyza tuberiperda, and may be seen hovering over the spot where a truffle lies concealed. They hover with the intention of depositing their larvae on the truffles, little realizing what an expensive baby food they thus provide for their tiny offspring.
Even with these various aids, truffle-hunting is a skilled business, and one which is closely regulated. Truffling rights in a piece of land may be separated from ownership of the land itself. This is not surprising since an expert hunter working in good terrain may gather the equivalent of six months' livelihood in a few weeks, if the summer weather has been right and the season a good one. The season runs from November to February, and even March, in the Périgord.
The supreme manner of enjoying truffles must no doubt be that described by Alexandre Dumas père (1873), writing about the goings-on at the house of one of the ‘queens’ of the Paris theatre of his time, Mlle Georges, when offering supper to intimate friends after the show:
… at the house of [Mlle Georges], she who embodied every form of sensuality, no mercy was shown to the truffle, it was compelled to yield every sensation which it was capable of giving.
Hardly had she arrived home when perfumed water in a shallow basin of the most beautiful porcelain was brought to Georges, in which she washed her hands. Then the truffles were brought, truffles which had already been subjected to two or three ablutions and the same number of scrubbings; and, in a separate plate, a little vermilion fork and a little knife with a mother-of-pearl handle and a steel blade.
Then Agrippine, with her hand modelled on classical lines, with her fingers of marble and her rosy fingernails, started to peel the black tubercle, an ornament in her hand, in the most adroit fashion in the world. She cut it in thin tiny leaves, like paper, poured on some ordinary pepper and a few atoms of Cayenne pepper, impregnated them with white oil from Lucca or green oil from Aix, and then passed the salad bowl to a servant, who tossed the salad which she had prepared.
A modern connoisseur might suggest instead that whole truffles, unpeeled, be wrapped in several layers of cooking paper greased with goose fat, and roasted gently under hot cinders. But this would be for the very wealthy. Most people must be satisfied with the slivers of truffle to be found in pâté de foie gras truffé or with putting a tiny amount of truffle in a recipient used for storing eggs, which will then acquire a wonderful truffle aroma and flavour.
Another delicacy known as ‘truffle’ belongs to the realm of chocolate confectionery. This is a cherry-sized ball of soft chocolate paste, often encased in a harder chocolate coating. If dusted with cocoa powder, as they often are, these are thought to look like freshly dug real truffles. Hence their name, which first became current in the 1920s.
Alan Davidson was a distinguished author and publisher, and one of the world's best-known writers on fish and fish cookery. In 1975 he retired early from the diplomatic service—after serving in, among other places, Washington, Egypt, Tunisia, and Laos, where he was British Ambassador—to pursue a fruitful second career as a food historian and food writer extraordinaire. Among his popular books are Seafood of South-East Asia, North Atlantic Seafood, and Mediterranean Seafood. In 2003, shortly before his death, he was awarded the Erasmus Prize for his contribution to European culture.
