It’s Truffle season and I for one am the first to leap at the chance of having lashings of fresh truffle shavings all over my decadent creamy pasta. Truffle can be a divisive flavour. It is rich, pungent with a deep umami tone that people seem to either love or hate.
Not only is the taste divisive but so is the price tag. Along with Champagne and Caviar there is no denying that it is an elitist food often found on menus of fine dining establishments. I love the pomp and ceremony of a tasty truffle being shaved at the table, the little nuggets of joy have always fascinated me, but do I buy fresh truffle for cooking with, nope!
Why is truffle so expensive?
This year I had the pleasure of being taken truffle hunting. I imagined portly pigs, snuffling around any time of year digging up truffles and just handing them over. In fact, quite the opposite is true. The truffle hunters who rely on finding these treasures to make a living are at war with the wild boar who love to eat the prized fungi, known for growing in the mulchy ground under the oak trees.
Truffle hunting is still a very traditional practice with strict laws around when you can harvest. Truffle hunting is banned from April to September to enable the ground’s reserves to recover, and the ideal conditions for this sought-after ingredient to grow in are under the shade of oak trees, where they feed off all of the nutrients left from fallen acorns. When the ground is slightly rotting, humid and warm, they flourish.
The best truffle hunting locations are a carefully guarded secret, and we drove well over two hours south of Rome in Italy to find them in the Lazio region. These days the truffles are detected by trained, truffle hunting dogs and truffle hunters defend their locations, dogs and clients fiercely.
The laborious nature of the truffle collection and its scarcity add to the price. A winter truffle is harder to find due to ground frost and difficult growing conditions. A white winter truffle can reach up to 6,000 euros compared to 200 euros for the summer equivalent.
Be Truffle
There is one family in Italy who want to change the elitest culture of truffles and bring this unique flavour into all of our homes.
They have launched a new range of sauces and condiments like no other on the market. Forget only getting your hit from your truffle and parmesan fries. They have launched 32 condiments and sauces to tickle your tastebuds and bring this unique ingredient to every day dishes.
Be Truffle differs from other truffle brands by offering a revolutionary ‘truffle take’ on traditional British favourites, injecting a dash of tasty truffle into everyday sauces and condiments such as mayonnaise, ketchup, BBQ sauce and mustard.
In addition, the collection includes an assortment of delicious innovative tasty truffle infused sauces such as Truffle Teriyaki, Truffle Soy Sauce, Truffle Ponzu Sauce and the unique Be Truffle Sauce, alongside affordable traditional truffle products such as truffle honey, olive oil, butter and salt.
This is amazing news for all you truffle lovers out there, get your hands on this new range at www.betruffle.com.
Review and Images by Emmie Blower @emmiebhungry
Product images supplied
