Eighty One Brings Truffles to Upper West Side Bloomberg Manhattan's Upper West Side has long favored humble bistros over high-end eateries. Things are changing.
Cutback Cuisine The Wall Street Journal Get ready to eat more pasta. With food prices rising at their highest rate in decades, chefs are swapping out high-end ingredients for humbler substitutes and scratching low-profit entrees off the menu.
Another Victim of Global Warming Los Angeles Times Philippe Daniel opens a slim briefcase so buyers can get a glimpse of his wares, then snaps it shut with a wary glance over his shoulder. Daniel is not dealing in contraband, but in truffles, tubers prized for their heady fragrance and rich, earthy flavor.
March 12, 2008
Truffle hunting remains an age-old rite between man, dog, and the vagaries of nature. The truffle's greatest mystery revolves around its propagation. Tuber magnatum pico grow underground under the roots of certain oak and hazelnut species, but the places they choose seem arbitrary and serendipitous.
I was waiting out in the cold and humid air for a couple of minutes when an oversized and scruffy white poodle with an expert pink nose came loping toward me ahead of the local truffle hunters. Soon we were off to look for all-but-impossible-to-find white truffles, known for their sharp, distinctive peppery flavor.
The thing about truffle hunting is that it never takes place on those gorgeous afternoons that the places known for truffles are famous for. Most people don't go to Italy or the South of France for the gray skies and muddy footpaths. But I did. When there are white truffles involved, I always think it's worth the effort.
This time I'm in The Marches, the part of Italy due east of Florence. It's true that Piedmont, far to the north, is the best-known white truffle region in the world. But with more and more of the forests where these addictive tubers thrive turned into vineyards, the region is becoming more of a market for truffle buyers and sellers than a territory for hunters. I admit I'm a buyer when that's my only option. But I prefer the hunt.
There's Dora darting off to the first patch of oak trees, aggressively digging her nose into the foliage fallen around the roots. Nothing there. Off to the next one: again, nothing. We head deeper into the woods.
Mud builds up on our boots, and we slip now and then on the leaf-covered slopes. Most of the time you don't find anything on a truffle hunt. But that just makes it all the better when you do find a precious nugget or two.
It may seem strange to the uninitiated, but there's a cult-like attention paid to fresh truffles. The white ones - which are served raw, shaved onto pasta or meat - can cost more than gold gram for gram. During the peak of the season, which typically runs from late October to early December, white truffles can fetch between $1,200 to $2,300 a pound. They're second only to Beluga caviar as the most expensive thing you can serve on a dinner plate.
Still nothing from Dora, whose enthusiasm seems unaffected by our fatigue. We've been out for nearly two hours now.
The animal of choice for these excursions used to be a female pig. Turns out a ripe truffle smells a lot like the odor given off by a male pig, so the females do their best to track them down. But they liked them too much. Before my time, when pigs were still used, truffle hunters used to carry a long stick to pry the pig away from the truffle before she could eat it. Now dogs are trained to sniff out the treasure that lies buried just a few inches under ground. Some experts believe they track a telltale truffle fly.
Dora, on the other hand, proudly backs away and howls when she finds her first truffle of the day, a tiny morsel a little smaller than a grape. It's covered in dirt and looks like a small rock. But the deep pungent smell gives it away.
She finds two smaller ones before we call it a day. The nearby town is called Amandola, and a few hours later it's dinnertime at one of the village's trattorie, a fire raging in the corner. Soon, the plain cooked fettuccini we ordered will arrive and we'll transform it with a few delicate shavings from our afternoon hunt. There's a bottle of the local Sangiovese on the table between us. Dora's owner ordered the wine, saying it was simple enough to get out of the way and let the truffles be the star. As if anything tonight could upstage our hard-won treasure.
Share the Eye:
White Truffle Aioli scribd.com In a food processor, using medium speed, add egg yolks, garlic and lemon juice.
Food of Kings urbanitruffles.com There is conclusive historical evidence that during the Roman Empire the upper class enjoyed the truffle in many of their favorite dishes.
Truffle FAQs natruffling.org Truffles are hypogeous (underground) versions of mushrooms. They don't form a prominent stem and their spore-bearing surfaces are enclosed.
Godiva truffles are excellent.
But I'm more interested in the pigs. In a part of the old Ea...
Mar. 12, 2008 12:38 PM
Where's your favorite place to hunt for truffles?
5% 0% 5% 26% 63%
marvseline said...
not much--little interest in truffles.
very interested in site--sounds like it's going to be fun
leighbjh said...
LOve the site, love the discussions, definiteyly will be a daily read. Thanks for your sharing!!!!
jake said...
i've heard that they use canaries to look for truffles on mars....but one has to be careful not to believe all that's printed.
TrishGA said...
Loved it.....if yesterday and today are hints of what's to come, I'll be tuning in.....(and thanks for demystifying truffles!)
Truffles are one of those pleasures in life that sounds banal until you actually experience it. Afterwards, you realize that there is no other flavor that is truffle-like. It is truly a unique experience. Have you tried the truffled sea salts avaliable at gourmet food stores? They are wonderful on pasta.
TeamCosmo said...
Can someone please explain to me the difference between "truffles" at the Godiva store and what Peterman's talking about?
The Godiva truffles are a whipped chocolate variety. A true truffle is a fungus, mushroom-like, that grows underground.
delicious.
Godiva truffles are excellent.
But I'm more interested in the pigs. In a part of the old East Indies I saw a pig that was huge, several hundred pounds at least, that lay on its side permanently. It had it's own hut, remarkable. There's a Graham Greene story named "A Shocking Accident" that involved a man killed by a falling pig in Naples, Italy. Many years ago the people would keep the pigs on a veranda above the street. Of course, one day the veranda collapsed and the pig fell and killed a passerby. (Maybe he was carrying a bag of fungus truffles home at the time...it wouldn't be fair if they were Godiva truffles!)
I've never ate a truffle....but a roast pig tastes pretty good especially if you have Godiva truffles for dessert.
more on the honor rollI have never had the opportunity to try a truffle (though I would love to), but I did grow up on a farm with oversized and scruffy white poodles!
cherann said...
I heard a story about a man who spent thousands of dollars for a dog for the express purpose of a truffle hunt. The rationale is that the dog pays for itself in just a couple of hours....assuming the hunt is successful.
Me, I've not had the pleasure of either a truffle hunt or a truffle found in such a hunt. I've made the chocolat version for my friends, though. Pretty satisfying alternative to a trek in the woods for something that smells like a male pig.
JCrosby500 said...
Interesting. France and Italy continue to argue about whose fungi truffles are superior (among other things). I'm content with either. Of the chocolate variety I believe that Prince Michael's (Magazine Street, New Orleans) are the best.
Dr_Rich said...
Am I to understand the Belgium chocolate truffles I picked up in the Munich duty free aren't really truffles? Tis a shame, but they are decadant!