One of the most expensive mushrooms in the world is white truffle. In price and taste, he competes only with his black counterpart. Even in past centuries, only very wealthy people could afford to eat white truffle. Nowadays, not every restaurant can boast a permanent menu of these delicious mushrooms. In addition to excellent taste, they have another interesting property. White truffle is a mushroom that is one of the most powerful aphrodisiacs in the world. Even Dumas noted such miraculous properties of these mushrooms.
Truffles have an amazing aroma that allows animals to find them even under a layer of soil. From the point of view of cooking, one can talk about the properties of these mushrooms endlessly. They are in perfect harmony with various dishes and are able to turn ordinary food into a delight for connoisseurs. These mushrooms are most often consumed raw or dried. This allows you to better feel their indescribable taste and aroma.
Description
White truffle is an underground mushroom. Its fruiting body has a somewhat irregular shape. In appearance, it resembles a Jerusalem artichoke tuber or potato. The weight of a mature specimen can reach 1.5 kg. However, individuals came across with a larger mass. In diameter, the white truffle, as a rule, reaches 15-20 cm. At the base, it has a slight narrowing. When dried, the volume of the fungus decreases several times. Young specimens are covered with a whitish smooth skin. Over time, it darkens, becomes covered with tubercles and cracks. The mushroom pulp is quite dense and dry to the touch. In young truffles, it is white with a marble tint and yellow streaks (they contain reservoirs with spores). Old specimens have dark flesh with brown streaks. A very strong specific aroma has a white truffle. A photo of this mushroom can be seen in this article. The appearance of macromycetes may vary slightly, depending on the region of growth.
HabitatTruffles grow in coniferous, deciduous and mixed forests. You can find them in loose, well-heated and moderately moist soils with not too developed grass cover. Most often, they are found in birch forests, aspen forests, near hazel bushes, as well as in young plantings of spruce and pine trees. Collect them in August-September. Only white truffles are found in Russian forests. Although there is information about finding Black.
Truffle SearchAnimals are used to search for truffles. As a rule, these are dogs and pigs (boars). They can smell and find mushrooms even under a layer of soil. In boars, the aroma of these mushrooms for unknown reasons is associated with the smell of a female, and they can smell the target at a distance of about 10 m. However, when hunting for truffles with pigs, you need to be careful. If the boar finds a mushroom, it will not be slow to dig out and eat it. Therefore, they are often put on muzzles. Truffles are also sought after with dogs (females). On this they are specially trained from the first months of life. First they are given milk with a decoction of mushrooms. When the puppy grows up, they begin to practice with him in the room. They hide somewhere (under rags of cloth, etc.) a piece of wood rubbed with truffle, and make the dog look for him by smell. For success rewarded delicious. As the dogs grow older, training is transferred to the yard, to the garden, and then to the forest.