Here are some interesting fun facts about the elusive black truffles as written by Sarah Knapton from the British Telegraph:

1.Truffles grow in harmony with a host tree, enabling the tree to take in phosphorus while in return the truffle receives sugars enabling it to grow.

2. The ancient Greeks thought truffles were made when lightning hit damp soil

3. Truffles are mushrooms which are believed to have started growing underground to beat forest fires, drought and severe cold

4. Italians consider the white truffle (tuber magnatum) to be superior in taste to the black truffle (tuber melonosporum)

5. Pigs, trained dogs and goats are used to sniff out truffles which produce a chemical almost identical to a sex pheromone found in male pig's saliva. Men secrete the same chemical in their underarm sweat

6. The truffle has been described variously as a diamond of cookery, fairy apple, black queen, gem of poor lands, fragrant nugget and the black pearl.

7. The Collins family of Wiltshire held the only Royal warrant to hunt for truffles in the UK until 1930 since when anyone has been allowed to seek them out

8. A rare Italian white truffle sold for £28,000 at a charity auction in 2004

9. France is the largest producer of truffles, harvesting up to 30 tonnes a year. At the end of the nineteenth century production was over 1,000 tonnes

10. A fabled aphrodisiac, the black truffle's penetrating aroma led the Epicureans to liken the scent to that of the tousled sheets of a brothel bed. In the Middle Ages, monks were prohibited from eating truffles for fear they would forget their calling.

More Truffly Facts

It is widely believed that the finest black truffles come from France, particularly the southwestern region known as the Dordogne. The most famous black truffle of all is from a specific part of the Dordogne called the Périgord. The type of truffle grown there takes its name from the region, the Périgord black truffle (Tuber melanosporum), often referred to as the "Diamonds of Périgord." They are simply exquisite, and from December to March, French truffle markets feature delectable Périgord black truffles characterized by a subtle aroma and an earthy flavour reminiscent of a rich lusty chocolate. They reach their pinnacle of fragrance and flavor in January and February. However Australia is rapidly catching up with our French friends and are producing black truffles of equally exceptional quality during our winter months of July and August.

Truffles grows beneath the surface of the soil among the root systems of specific types of trees, in particular oak, hazelnut, beech, chestnut, and develops a symbiotic relationship with those trees. With the exception of the white Alba truffle, Périgord truffles are scarcer, more desirable and higher-priced than other truffles. Within the last 100 years production of these almost incomparable delicacies has significantly diminished from previous levels, but demand among discerning epicures remains justifiably strong.

BLACK TRUFFLE HUNTING

The fresh, wild truffles are discovered by rabassiers (French truffle hunters) amid the woods and forests of the Périgord region. 

The centuries-old traditional method used by rabassiers to locate and unearth a Périgord truffle is essentially identical to the technique used by "trifolai" (Italian truffle hunters) when hunting Alba white truffles in northern Italy. 

The truffle hunters use pigs or dogs to locate and uncover the wild truffles growing beneath trees. Female pigs have an innate ability to detect truffles beneath the ground by using their acute sense of smell. Sows are naturally attracted to truffles because they contain a compound very similar to a pheromone secreted by boars. Unfortunately, truffle pigs also have a tendency to eat the truffles they unearth, and as a result, more and more truffle hunters are now using specially-trained truffle dogs to find their quarry.

The highly prized nature of the Périgord winter black truffle makes truffle hunting with a dog or pig something similar to a woodsy treasure hunt. Rabassiers claim nothing is better than hunting for (and finding!) fresh winter black truffles on a cold, crisp December day accompanied and assisted by an eager truffle pig or dog sniffing and rooting in the earth.

The truffle-hunting process is time consuming and labor intensive, factors which are partially responsible for the high prices fresh winter Périgord black truffles so easily command. Truffle markets can be found throughout many regions of France, but the largest French truffle market, located in the tiny village of Richerenches in southeastern France, is almost certainly the largest truffle market in the world.

Southwestern France's largest truffle market is located in Lalbenque, not far from Périgord. The perfume of a winter black truffle is at its height in January and February, and that is when truffle markets are at their busiest. Fresh winter black truffles have been known to sell for wholesale prices of €1,000 per kilogram in these "farmer's markets," but prices in a retail setting easily approach €4,000 per kilogram.

Fresh winter black truffles from Périgord are prized by chefs and epicures throughout the world for their incomparable flavor and aroma. They are an exquisite blend of "chocolate and earth" and richly deserve being referred to as the "Diamonds of Périgord."

Article by Enjoyfoiegras and Luisa Machielse (provided by Borrodell Vineyard)