Cactus Language Blog

Truffles (Tartufi)

Posted by simonager under Italian, Learning a language

Truffles are the fruiting body (ascoma) of a type of fungi found in Europe, Asia, North Africa and North America. They have been used as food, aphrodisiacs and medicines since Roman times, and are the one of the most expensive foods in the world. They are especially popular in French, northern Italy and parts of Croatia and Slovenia.

Truffles grow among the roots of certain trees, and are round, warty and irregularly shaped. They are usually gathered between September and May, and range from the size of a walnut to the size of fist. They are found by specially trained truffle hounds or pigs, who are able to sniff them out. However the pigs tends to eat the truffles as soon as they find them, so dogs are preferred. Popular types of truffle include the French black truffle (tuber melanosporum) from south west France and the white truffle (tuber magnatum) from northern Italy.

The most expensive truffles are the white or Alba truffles from the Langhe area of Piedmont in northern Italy, and particularly from near the city of Alba. They also grow on the Istria pennisula in Croatia. They are usually found between October and November among the roots of oak, hazel, poplar and beech trees and can reach half a kilo in weight, though most are smaller. They usually sell for between £1,575 - £3,150 per kilo, but in December 2007 a casino owner from Macau paid £165,000 for a 1.5kg white truffle found near Pisa, one of the largest discovered for many years.

Truffles were successfully cultivated in France during the 19th century and they became relatively inexpensive and eaten frequently by many people. However due to the depopulation of the France countryside after the First World War, techniques for cultivating truffles were forgotten and the truffles stopped growing in the truffle fields. As a result, the availability of truffles plummeted, prices shot up, and truffles become rare delicacies enjoyed occasionally by the rich.

Truffles are cleaned, then scraped or grated onto food such as pasta or salads, or into soups and sauces. Thinly sliced truffles are severed with chicken, veal, soufflés, pasta, omelettes or rice, and can be slipped under chicken skin before roasting. Truffles are also used in pâté de foie gras. White truffles, which have the most distinctive and strongest aroma, are crushed in olive oil. The resulting juice is filtered and dispensed in droplets to flavour various dishes.

Summer truffles (tuber aestivum) can even be found in parts of the UK such as Wiltshire, especially in beech, chestnut and oak woods on chalky soil between July and November.

About the author
Simon Ager runs a company that provides information and advice about languages mainly via the website www.omniglot.com.

Tags:culture, England, food, Italian, Itlay, November, October, Truffles