DavidoffTruffles – fungi with historySince the times of the Greeks and Romans these fungi have been used in Europe as delicacies, as aphrodisiacs, and as medicines. They are among the most expensive of the world's natural foods, often commanding as much as $250 to $450 per pound. In the United States, edible truffles are collected in the forests of Oregon and Washington, like the white Tuber gibbosum. Although the Oregon truffle industry is in its infancy, it commands as much as $150 per pound for its truffles. Truffles are only the "fruit" of the fungus. All of the truffle fungi form a symbiotic relationships with trees, such as oak or hazel trees. The belowground fruiting habit of truffles is thought to be an adaptation to forest fires or dry or frosty periods, in which aboveground mushrooms are more vulnerable. Truffles are round, warty, and irregular in shape and vary from the size of a walnut to that of a man's fist. The harvesting season for most truffles falls between September and May. Truffles are harvested in Europe with the aid of female pigs or truffle dogs, which are able to detect the strong smell of mature truffles underneath the surface of the ground. The use of pigs is risky, though, because of their natural tendency to eat any remotely edible thing. For this reason, dogs have been trained to dig into the ground wherever they find these odors, and they willingly exchange their truffle for a piece of bread and a pat on the head. Not a bad trade for the truffle hunter! |