1. The scientific name for this highly regarded-gourmet
delicacy is Tuber Melanosporum but it is also known
as the Perigord Truffle and many people refer to it as the kitchen black diamond.
 |
| Source: http://www.cestaysetas.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/Tuber_melanosporum.5.jpg |
2. Properly
speaking, the black truffle is the edible fruiting body of an underground
ascomycete fungus. As these fungi cannot
produce enough organic material on their own, they must live in association
with a host plant. They show predilection for
growing close to the roots of oak, holm oak and hazel trees.
 |
| Source: http://www.agrimundo.cl/wp-content/uploads/121119_boletin_agregados_trufas_n3-corregido-listo-para-despacho1.pdf |
They
also require very precise wheater conditions - enough cold and precipitations - along with certain types of soil at a
specific altitude range. These are the
reasons why this elusive wonder is mainly found in the southwest mediterranean
Europe [1].
3. Although traditional gathering
methods still remain the same, wild truffle today has almost been replaced by modern truffle
farming.
 |
| Source: http://cultivosforestales.com/blog-setas/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/plantacion-de-encinas-con-trfa.jpg |
However, there are no oficial records nor reliable data that allow us
to quantify exactly the amount of cultivated production. Both producers and
gatherers tend to underestimate their business figures.
4. Most of
the harvested truffle comes from Spain, France and Italy. In view
of the experts, the global production is about 100 tn.
5. Destroying the myth. Contrary to the popular
belief, Spain is the world´s leading grower of black truffle. Our country
provides around 40% of the total crop. At the same time, Aragon -the region
where Lady Godina comes from- contributes with two thirds of the aggregated
Spanish harvest.
The small
aragonese town of Sarrion -in the province of Teruel- is considered to be the capital of the black truffle and
hosts the most relevant fair of this sector in Spain: Fitruf
6. Mora
de Rubielos, Graus and Morella. These three small towns fix the price
of the Spanish black truffle through their local markets. Sellers and buyers comes to an agree in a very traditional way as the supply and demand law
is strictly followed.
The imbalance of these measures - the supply represents only 10% of the
demand - plus with the negative impact
of the climate change[2]
result
in a relatively high price per kilogram around -500 €/kg on average-.
That said, the French black truffle is around 40% more expensive than
the Spanish. Every year a significant amount of the Spanish production is
imported by French and Italian brokers who trade with it.
7. This is a
seasonal and short life-time product. The gathering time takes place from
november 15th to march 15th.
It should be noticed that, when
not processed, fresh truffle gradually loses its properties within a 10-day
window. Furthermore, a recent survey conducted by scientists
of the University of Zaragoza (Aragon) underline
that, once defrosted, black truffle loses its aroma within just 24 hours[3].
8. The
organoleptic features of the truffle are directly connected to the bacteria
living on its surface, as a new piece of work suggests[4]. Since each
type of soil is inhabitated by a diverse population of bacteria, verifying the
origin of the truffle is vital to ensure the expected quality.
9. Beware
if you don´t want to be ripped-off. Other medium and even non-existent culinary
value truffle varieties can also be found in the markets. Regarding the first ones, Tuber Brumale (winter truffle) and Tuber Aestivum (summer truffle)
are of fairly good quality too so they fetch high prices as well. Anyway, they
cannot be compared to the genuine black diamond.
 |
| Tuber Brumale. Source: http://www.delbosquealacocina.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=section&layout=blog&id=41&Itemid=159 |
 |
| Tuber Aestivum. Source: http://setas-hongos.blogspot.com.es/2012/10/tuber-aestivum-trufa-de-verano.html |
By
contrast, cheap asian substitutes -practically without aroma- are
distorting the markets and causing confusion among consumers. Chinese
companies are selling their native fungi varieties like Tuber Indicum (chinese
truffle) at a much lower range of prices -around 30€/kg-.
Because of that it
is really useful asking for technical advise during the buying process, as
dishonest european dealers try to cheat their customers by mixing genuine with
fake black truffles[5].
 |
Tuber Indicum. Source: http://www.gourmetkerqus.com/cms/es/generic/tuber-indicum
|
[1] http://www.micofora.com/index.asp?idioma=EN&opc=39&
[2] http://www.gastronomiaycia.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/Estudio_producion_trufa_negra.pdf
[3] http://www.diariodeteruel.es/noticia/57507/multiples-notas-armonizadas-marcan-el-aroma-de-la-trufa-negra
[4] https://trufflefarming.wordpress.com/2014/11/02/what-percentage-of-truffle-aroma-comes-from-bacteria/
[5] http://www.businessinsider.com.au/chinese-fakes-are-being-passed-off-as-the-real-thing-but-this-time-its-800kg-truffles-2014-3
