2nd May: National Truffles Day

Today is National Truffles Day. Here's the lowdown on this expensive delicacy.

1. A truffle is the fruit of a tuber like fungus which grows around certain trees in a symbiotic relationship in which the tree gets phosphorous and the truffle gets sugar. They like Beech, Birch, hazel, hornbeam, Oak, pine, and poplar. By some peculiarity of biology, however, a truffle is more closely related to a Carrot than a Mushroom.
2. In ancient times, nobody really knew what they were, hence people believed they were caused by thunderstorms and Lightning strikes.
3. They are rare and it took a long time to work out how to cultivate them. A Frenchman called Pierre II Mauléon (1744–1831) was a pioneer of trufficulture. He worked out that they were often found near oak trees in rocky, chalky soil. He planted acorns from the truffle producing trees in the right kind of soil, and sure enough, a few years later he was growing truffles. His success at this got him a prize at the 1855 World's Fair in Paris.
4. France is still the largest producer of truffles, harvesting up to 30 tonnes a year. However, production has fallen since the end of the 19th century when production was over 1,000 tonnes. The largest truffle market in the world is in Richerenches, a small village in France.
5. So truffles are rare. Rare enough that there is a thriving black market where dealers resort to kidnapping truffle hunting Dogs, smuggling and underground auctions. Black market aside, they can bring in a lot of cash. The record price paid for a single white truffle was set in December 2007, when Macau casino owner Stanley Ho paid $330,000 (£165,000) for one weighing 1.5 kilograms (3.3 lb).
6. Harvesting truffles is done with the help of either a dog or a Pig. Female pigs love truffles because they have a chemical in them which is similar to one produced by a randy male pig. So sows are pretty motivated to find them, and don't need to be trained to do so, but are also highly likely to eat any they find. Dogs need to be trained, but are usually happy to give them up for some praise and a dog treat.
7. Truffles have long been considered an aphrodisiac. Such much so that in the Middle Ages the church condemned them as the work of the devil, and monks in particular were forbidden to eat them in case it made them forget their call to celibacy. Casanova and Napoleon were said to use them to enhance their virility. Nobody is quite sure whether truffles contain something that turns people on as much as it does a female pig, or if the attraction is in the fact that they are rare and expensive (this guy can afford truffles - he's a keeper).
8. So what do they taste like? White truffles have a more pungent flavour than Black ones. The taste has been described as earthy and pungent with a hint of petrichor (the fresh smell of rain-soaked earth after rain).
9. Truffle oil has no truffles in it. It's usually olive oil with synthetic flavouring.
10. 100g of truffles contains 284 calories, 70g of fibre, 9g of protein, some sodium, calcium, Iron, vitamin B6, magnesium and Potassium. And no cholesterol.

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