TRUFFLES AND THE CRISIS: THE RECENT ECONOMIC CRISIS HASN’T STOPPED TRUFFLE PRICES FROM REACHING 3,000 EUROS/KILO, ACCORDING TO COLDIRETTI. AND THE TRUFFLE FAIRS THROUGHOUT ITALY BEGIN…

There might be a global economic crisis but truffles are already getting quoted at over 3,000 euros per kilo at the beginning of a season that foresees high quality for the precious “tuber magnatum pico”, though the harvest so far is limited due to the lack of autumn rains. This was the affirmation of Coldiretti during the opening of Italy’s main truffle fairs: Sant’Angelo in Vado in Alba (from 10 October to 9 November), San Miniato, San Giovanni d’Asso-Asciano (Crete Senesi), and Acqualagna (which will soon be accompanied by numerous other fairs throughout the country).

The truffle harvest involves tens of thousands of people, as well as many of man’s best friend, who supply stores and restaurants with truffles that, in the end, could earn a total of about half a billion euros when sold in all of its forms – fresh, preserved, or transformed. From Piedmont to the Marche, Tuscany, Umbria, Abruzzo, Molise, and even Lazio and Calabria, the last weekends of October and all of those in November are dedicated to fairs and events in honor of the truffle, where visitors can both taste and buy them at the most “convenient” prices.

“The hunt for truffles, practiced even by the Sumerians” – noted Coldiretti – “takes on an economic function of supporting internal woodland areas and represents an important income for the local communities, with positive effects on tourist in-flux as the numerous occasions for festivities in its honor demonstrate”.

”The truffle” – continued Coldiretti – “is a fungus that lives underground and is made up mostly of water and minerals that are absorbed from the land through the roots of a tree with which it lives in symbiosis. Developing near the roots of trees like pine, holm-oak, cork-wood oak, and oak, the truffle owes its characteristics (color, flavor, and odor), precisely to the type of tree that it has grown under. The form, instead, depends on the type of soil: if it is soft then the truffle is smooth, if it is compact, the truffle will become knotty and gnarled because of the difficulty of finding space”.
”Truffles are noted” – concluded Coldiretti – “for their strong aphrodisiacal powers and, in the kitchen, the black truffle is mostly used in cooking or for stuffing, though it is also eaten raw, sliced thinly over a plate of fresh pasta. The white truffle, instead, is rigorously eaten raw on foods like fondue, tajarin with butter, and risotto. As for wine, the white truffle goes well with great reds, while with the black, whites are also permitted”.



The How To for Buying, Conserving and Tasting Truffles
Acquisition – the organoleptic qualities of the truffle are highest at the moment it is harvested and its aroma declines with the passing of time. It is recommended that it be bought from a trustworthy retailer or at markets near where truffles are harvested and only during the season when they are ripe.
Conservation – Refrigerate in a hermetically sealed container wrapped in a paper napkin or submerged in rice, which will also take on some of the truffle’s scent.

Use – It is good practice to clean truffles just before they are to be used, with a brush and, if necessary, passing them quickly under a bit of cold water.

Source: Coldiretti