What is the black truffle mushroom used for? Description and taste of black truffles, collection features

Truffle is an edible member of the Truffle family.

Appearance

The fruiting bodies of truffle mushrooms are round or tuberous in shape and range in size from 2.5 to 10 centimeters. Their surface is dark in color - from bluish-black to brown-black. It often contains pyramidal warts, but there are also types with a smooth surface.

The pulp of a young truffle is dense, while that of a mature one is loose. At first it is whitish, but as it ages it becomes brownish-yellow. When cut, the light veins inside the pulp give it a marbled color. The taste of truffle pulp is sweetish, reminiscent of a nut. The aroma of the mushroom is pleasant, similar to the smell of algae.

Species

The most common types of truffle are:

Summer

It is found in central Europe, including Russia (its second name is “black Russian”). It is valued less than other types of this mushroom. The ripening season for this truffle is summer and the first month of autumn.

Ginger

It grows in Europe and North America. It can also be found in Siberia.

White

This truffle can be found in the northern regions of Italy and neighboring regions of France. It is also called Italian or Piedmontese. The surface of such truffles is brownish or light ocher in color. The inside of the mushroom is dense, whitish or yellow-gray, its marbled pattern is cream or white. This type of truffle smells similar to cheese with garlic. Its collection is usually carried out in October.

Black

It is considered the most valuable among mushrooms of this species. It grows most often in France. The second name of such a mushroom is associated with the area of growth - Perigord mushroom. It is distinguished by a reddish-brown-black surface color, dark pulp, characteristic odor and pleasant taste. This truffle grows in winter and is harvested in January-March.

Winter

This mushroom grows in Switzerland and France. It is also found in Ukraine. Its main difference is the ripening period (November-March).

Where does it grow

Truffle is an underground mushroom. It usually grows at shallow depths, and old truffles may appear on the surface. You can find such a mushroom in forests - both deciduous and mixed (truffles appear extremely rarely among coniferous trees). It loves calcareous soils and often grows under the roots of birches, oaks, hornbeams, and beeches.

This type of mushroom grows in Central Europe. In Russia, it can be found in the Caucasus on the Black Sea coast. Truffle searches are carried out by specially trained dogs and pigs. Above the places where truffles grow, in evening time(at sunset) you can see swarms of yellowish flies.

How to choose and where to buy

Since the mushroom has a short shelf life (2-4 days after collection), therefore, fresh it is eaten only during the gathering season. These mushrooms are not sold in regular supermarkets. They can be purchased in specialized departments and directly from suppliers. Most often, truffles are purchased in small quantities for restaurants. For long-term storage, truffles can be preserved and frozen. Mushrooms are transported in special containers, sometimes immersed in olive oil or covered with rice.

Why are truffles so expensive?

The cost of this type of mushroom is very high. A kilogram of this delicacy costs from 400 euros. The high cost of truffles is due to the difficulties of growing, the seasonality of obtaining this mushroom, as well as the high taste and aromatic qualities of the product.

The value of truffles is primarily affected by the size of the specimens. How larger mushroom, the higher its cost. The most expensive are mushrooms with large size(like apples), but less than 1% of all collected mushrooms will grow such truffles. About 10% of the harvest is nut-sized - these truffles are classified as Extra grade. About 30% of mushrooms the size of a grape are collected. The remaining mushrooms are even smaller, so they are cheaper and are used mainly for making sauces.

Characteristics

The mushroom is considered a gourmet product.
It has a mushroom taste, mixed with the taste of nuts or seeds. When truffles are placed in water, they have a taste similar to soy sauce.
Truffle has a strong characteristic odor.

Nutritional value and calorie content

100 g of truffles contains:

Chemical composition

By consuming truffles, a person receives with them:

proteins;
vitamins C, PP, B1 and B2;
carbohydrates represented by mono- and disaccharides;
minerals;
pheromones;
dietary fiber;
antioxidants.

Useful properties

The presence of pheromones in truffle improves emotional state person.
This type of mushroom contains many antioxidants.
Truffle juice can treat eye diseases.
A positive effect of consuming truffles for gout patients has been noted.

Harm

Individual intolerance (extremely rare).
Digestive problems.

Application

In cooking

A serving of truffle for one dish is rarely more than 5-8 grams. The mushroom is weighed in a restaurant on very precise scales.
Often truffle acts as an addition to the main dish. The mushroom is cut on a special grater.
This mushroom goes well with any food, especially with dishes that do not have a particularly distinct taste.
In French cooking, truffles are most often combined with poultry, lobsters, eggs, and fruits.
The mushroom can be served in pure form, and to emphasize the taste, they offer creamy or wine sauce.
Fillings for pies and truffle sauces are made from small truffles.
Slices of mushroom are often used to decorate black caviar, snails and other exotic dishes.

You can learn even more about truffle mushrooms from the following video of the Galileo program.

In cosmetology

Cosmetologists in Italy include truffle extract in masks and skin creams. They claim that adding this mushroom to cosmetics helps tighten the skin, remove age spots, and cope with fine wrinkles.

Growing

The cultivation of the truffle mushroom in France began in 1808, when the first truffle oak trees were planted. Later, truffle groves were created, producing up to a thousand tons of mushrooms per year. The decline of the country's agricultural industry also affected truffle cultivation. Every year, fewer and fewer truffle mushrooms are harvested from French truffle mushroom plantations.

In addition to France, such mushrooms are grown in China (now this country is the leader in truffle cultivation), Great Britain, the United States, Sweden and Spain, as well as in Australia and New Zealand. Truffle grown in China has less aroma, but is attractive due to its low price and great similarity in appearance and taste to its French counterpart. To improve the quality of mushrooms supplied from China, they are mixed with truffles grown in France.

It is believed that truffle contains a substance with psychotropic effects. It's called anandamide.
Due to the unknown origin of a mushroom that was not known about long time, many legends have appeared around the truffle. The ancient Romans considered this mushroom to be healing and enhance potency. In the Middle Ages, truffles were given mystical powers. During the Renaissance, this mushroom was considered an aphrodisiac.
The use of truffles in cooking began in the 15th century by Italian chefs.
Truffles were grown in the Moscow province, and bears whose teeth had been pulled out were involved in their collection.
In the village of Lorgues en Provence there is a restaurant whose menu includes large number dishes with truffles.

The Périgord truffle, or Tuber melanosporum, is considered a real masterpiece of nature. Definitions such as black diamonds or “capricious prince”, with which the French habitually award him, with all their colorfulness and emotionality, do not give a true idea of the very subject of national pride. Meanwhile, it's time to do it. Truffle hunting season is in full swing.

Aristocrats of the mushroom kingdom

No one has seen how they grow. Even those who collect them from generation to generation. Because the entire life of a truffle passes underground and is completely dependent on trees or shrubs, the roots of which become the real feeders of these mushrooms, sharing carbohydrate reserves with them. True, it would be unfair to call truffles parasites. The web of threads of the fungal mycelium, enveloping the roots of the host plant, helps it obtain additional moisture and, in addition, protects it from all kinds of microbial diseases, such as late blight.

The mycelium, the main part of the fungal organism, lives long if no one destroys it, and periodically forms fruiting bodies containing spores necessary for further reproduction. U regular mushrooms it's simple. Wind and water take care of their distribution. But the continuation of the underground truffle genus depends on whether they are found, dug up and eaten by animals, so that the spores, having passed through the intestines of forest gourmets and falling to the ground, can germinate in a new place. To attract the attention of eaters, truffles have one and only attraction - their aroma, which has developed in the process of evolution to unimaginable limits. True, not all truffles smell appetizing. Most of them exude a stench similar to the smell of tar, rotten herring or rotting onions. And only a few varieties of underground mushrooms, among which the black Périgord truffle takes pride of place, cause increased formation of gastric juice in humans.

The main conditions for the growth of truffles are warm climate temperate zone and mixed forest. These conditions correspond to central Russia, Crimea, many places in Spain, Portugal, southern Germany, Croatia, France and Italy. Actually, they are found in all of the listed areas. They are also found on the Pacific coast of the USA, in the forests of California, in Australia and North Africa- Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia.

There are two rulers in the truffle kingdom. The first is the white Italian truffle, a specialty of the Piedmont region that is extremely rare. Any Italian will say that he is better than others. And he will be both right and wrong at the same time. Its aroma is so subtle and varied that a volume of a cookbook could be dedicated to it alone.

The second is his eternal rival - the black Perigord. If you compare them, although this is not entirely correct, and you still can’t get away from such a comparison, the white Piedmontese gives a bright, almost non-negotiable composition of smells, associated with the concept of “Dolce Vita” stronger than the Gucci brand and a motor scooter.” Vespa", while the Perigorian is a reason for thought. Combinations of various products with white truffles are always spectacular, like fireworks, while with black truffles some of them may seem unforgettable, others monstrous, and others - ordinary. Thanks to the versatility of the black truffle, it tastes equally good with both veal and chocolate.

Mushroom hunters

The main animals in truffle hunting are dogs and pigs. And also... flies. Truffle flies are not a species name. Each country has its own. But what they have in common is their love for truffles. They flock to the smell and lay eggs in the soil nearby. The larvae emerge from the eggs, make their way to the nearest fruiting body, bite into it and eat until they pupate. Soon hundreds of flies hatch from the pupae at the same time. Their swarming in sunny weather makes it easy to find truffles: the swarm forms a column in the air, pointing directly to the native nest. As a rule, only one mushroom in a nest is affected, and the rest are intact. The advantage of such a search is minimal costs. The downside is that there are too many competitors with much more effective assistants - pigs and. Therefore, “fly hunting” is widely used only in the Middle East. In France they save it for tourists. Pigs, like flies, do not need to be baited into truffles; they can smell prey 20 meters away, run and dig it up to feast on it - just hold it. Therefore, search pigs are led on a leash, and immediately after the pig “makes a stand”, they reward it with something tasty, for example, sweet corn or beans, in order to distract it from the mushroom delicacy. Pigs have another drawback: in addition to being gluttonous, they quickly get tired, especially if the nests are scattered far from each other.

Therefore, the most common type of truffle hunting is with a dog. The breed does not matter; both mongrels and purebred dogs are trained. Shepherds and small dogs such as poodles, dachshunds and even toy terriers work equally well. Puppies are trained from 2-3 months of age. First, to achieve the effect of remembering the smell, truffle infusion is added to the milk. Then they teach you to bring aport grated with fresh mushrooms. Then the task is made more difficult by burying it in the ground. The most important stage of training a young “truffle” dog is “walking” along the route developed by the trainers through mushroom places. These classes are carried out at dawn, with high humidity, a temperature of 10-15°C and a constant moderate wind. The direction of movement is maintained so that the dog always walks against the wind. Training such a dog is a painstaking and expensive task, and therefore its cost is at least 5 thousand euros. However, real Tartufayo mushroom pickers do not skimp. In a year or two, the dog will more than cover all the costs of its acquisition and will begin to generate income for the owner. With the development of agro-gastronomic tourism, some truffle dogs have to serve as guides or mass entertainers. For example, serving excursions through the truffle forest with strangers. But they can handle it too.

Property of the Republic

Périgord black truffle is very expensive. It’s not easy to find it even in places habitual habitat. Since the 60s of the last century, for example, nothing has been heard about truffles from Charente. As experts say, black truffles are going through dark times.

One can only be surprised by the figures of the old statistics. Just over a hundred years ago, France produced 1,320 tons of black truffle annually. And in the 1999/2000 season, which was recognized as a fruitful year, the total sales did not exceed 30 tons!

The reasons for this decline are various. Some experts point to the consequences of the First World War, when truffle mining was almost the only source of income, and thousands of people who had previously had nothing to do with the “black diamond” began to feverishly and illiterately rummage in the ground, reducing any possibility of regeneration to almost zero . Others blame the reduction in areas of oak and beech forests and pollution environment. Apparently both are right.

And therefore the prices for truffles, which have already become a kind of curiosity, are prohibitively high. Although mushroom pickers themselves help keep prices at a certain level. They make sure that the harvest is not too large and the price of truffles does not fall. The collection must balance on the verge of shortage in order to cause a rush of demand among buyers who are ready to pay from 400 to 1,000 or more euros for one kilogram of truffles.

The forests most generous with truffles are in Périgord and Quercy, which cannot be found today political map France. But there are the departments of Dordogne and Lot. This is where the famous black truffles grow. Absolutely everyone knows about this: both the French and visitors. However, local residents will never confirm this. Because the location of truffles is a great mystery. It’s customary in these places not to tell the whole truth about truffles.

Hereditary truffle hunters treat all visitors, without exception, as intruders who only think about how to steal treasured treasures and send them around the world.

And yet, it is through the efforts of visiting enthusiasts that the Périgord truffle finds some kind of future. One of these associates is Hugues Martin. He came to the Dordogne at the age of 15 and since then has been involved in truffles, the cultivation of which has become his life's work. At first he worked as a forester in various local nurseries. Then, in 1996, he bought a truffle farm. And in 2001, he was appointed commissioner for the quality of the truffle market of the city of Saint-Alver (Gironde department in southwestern France). This position in its powers can be compared in these parts only with the position of mayor. And the fact that a stranger received this position speaks volumes.

Farms are the last hope of the Dordogne. There have been attempts to “domesticate” truffles for a long time. As a matter of fact, the “golden age” of the truffle, which occurred in late XIX centuries, was precisely the result of such agricultural experiments, when instead of vineyards affected by the phylloxera epidemic, oak trees were planted, and acorns were sown mixed with soil taken from areas rich in truffles. And since the 60s of the last century, such farms began to appear here again. This is one of the slowest industries agriculture. The first harvest can be expected in 15 years. Moreover, there is no guarantee that it will appear. Truffle is a capricious mushroom. They say that it only goes into the hands of those who respect it. And if this is so, then Yugo Martin should definitely be lucky.

What do these treasures of nature look like? All of them, not excluding the black one, are very ugly. Their fruit bodies are round and at the same time slightly angular, with large warts, and have a black or reddish-brown color. The pulp is reddish, turns black towards maturity, and is riddled with white veins. The black Périgord truffle ripens in the fall. The hunting season for it runs from November to March. The best mushrooms are those whose size is close to a large apple. They are very rare, making up only 1% of the total collection and belong to the super extra category. Mushrooms the size of walnut belong to extra grade and make up 10%, even smaller, about the size of a cherry, - first choice. They make up 30% of the collection. Most of the “catch” are very small truffles, which are only suitable for making sauces or gravies.

It must be said that in addition to the real Périgord truffle Tuber melanosporum, the winter truffle Tuber brumale, also called “black truffle,” is often on sale. It grows in the same places as true black, but is found somewhat more often. However, suppliers who care about their reputation (and in this sector of the economy almost everyone cares about reputation) will definitely inform you what exactly you are buying in this case. Here the price is different.

The main place where citizens can buy truffles is the “House of Truffles”, located on the Place de la Madeleine in Paris, where fresh truffles that have been specially selected and sorted by variety are sold from November to March. Moreover, prices for goods vary from astronomical to quite acceptable, although they can be called such very conditionally. It’s better not to think about the price of such a purchase in advance, so as not to be nervous.

Trufflemania

There is no need to talk about the taste of truffle special meaning, because it is unlikely that you will ever have the opportunity to bite off a whole mushroom. And no one does that. Unless you find yourself somewhere in Algeria or Iraq, and during the season of collecting local truffles, where you can try them baked in ash. However, the smell of Middle Eastern and desert types of truffles is unstable and completely disappears during heat treatment. But it was with them that it all began. It is difficult to say exactly when the ancient Romans began to massively purchase truffles in the Middle East and Africa. In any case, after the conquest of Egypt, it was from there that the ability to cook truffles came to Rome. Then, even in to a greater extent than now, truffles were an attribute of crazy luxury and were bought for the price of gold. And the accessories for their preparation corresponded to the valuable product. Golden fryers, prescribed by ancient chefs for preparing truffles, are not used today by even the most successful restaurateur. Seasonings and spices were also added, which were also expensive, although common for that time - salt, various herbs and always cumin (this spice is now known in Russia and the CIS under the name "cumin" and serves as an indispensable component of pilaf). No information has been preserved about the weight ratios of truffles and added seasonings, since the custom of writing down recipes appeared only in the 19th century. In any case, there was most likely nothing left of the aroma of the desert truffle, which was not very intense by nature, and had weakened during transportation. Besides the memory that in Egypt these mushrooms were extremely tasty and aromatic. The second and final discovery of the truffle occurred in the 15th century. It was then that the Italians discovered that delicacies were growing right under their feet. Do not forget that Italian cuisine at that time was much poorer than it is now. Therefore, the truffle they “discovered” instantly turned into an object of cult. And when Italian chefs went to work abroad, they immediately began looking for the iconic mushroom upon arrival. And they found it. First - in France. Then - in Russia.

In 1533, Florentine Catherine de' Medici married the future king of France. Arriving in France, the young princess almost withered away, because she was completely unable to eat the local, hard-to-digest food. Therefore, after the Medici, a landing party of cooks arrived from Florence. Thus began the history of the classic French cuisine, in which truffles took their rightful place. For the sake of fairness, it must be said that truffles were collected in France even before the advent of Florence - in Provence, the foothills of the Provencal Alps, Aquitaine and Charente, but they were not able to unravel the secret of their unique taste and were added to food to increase its volume. There was also a truffle fishery in Russia. Now it’s hard to believe, but the Moscow province was its center for two centuries. Production volumes amounted to hundreds, and in other years - more than a thousand poods. It is not known exactly when it all started, but in the 18th century, dozens of villages fed on truffles. The highest rise in fishing coincided with the return of Russian troops from Paris in 1813. In the north, it flourished in the vicinity of Fryanovo, not far from Fryazino and Fryazevo - villages inhabited by Italians who came to Russia under Peter I and who settled here. Near Podolsk, many truffles were mined in the vicinity of Dubrovitsy, where at the end of the 17th - beginning of the 18th century, Italian craftsmen spent 14 years building the Church of the Sign Mother of God. The explanation of who inspired the local men to extract the mushroom from the ground suggests itself. Near Dmitrov, truffle mining acquired strange, but distinctly Russian features - bears began to be used for searching. They were specially prepared, first of all, their teeth were pulled out. This practice was not widespread, since it was difficult to drive the bear away from the prey found.

A few grams of pleasure

Despite the youth of the domestic truffle market (the latest Russian truffle history goes back some 10-15 years), there are many places where you can taste or buy amazing mushrooms - these are elite restaurants, gourmet food stores or expensive gastronomic boutiques. They hang out here all year round. More valuable (in the absence of the most expensive - Perigord) and, accordingly, more expensive is the winter one, mined from the end of September to March. The timing of its growth is considered to be truffle season. The summer variety is less popular, replacing its relative in the off-season (from spring to autumn). The path of a mushroom from its place of growth to the Russian consumer looks something like this. “Expensive perishable goods are purchased, as a rule, to order (for a specific establishment or chef) from suppliers - owners of truffle farms and relevant licenses - in batches calculated in grams (30 g, 50 g, 100 g),” says Evgeniy Zapolsky, Chef of the mushroom restaurant Portofino. Truffles are imported in the form of whole tubers, pieces, juice, skin, cream, oil and sauce. In addition, canned truffles are also available - whole and crushed. It must be said that the import of truffles into our country began precisely with canned food intended for inexpensive Western restaurants. However, today their purchases have decreased significantly. Preference is given fresh mushrooms, which are delivered weekly in small batches to Russia by air in dark and cold (0 to +4°C) containers.

Truffle tubers are delivered unpeeled and unwashed; in the restaurant they are subjected to dry processing, carefully sweeping away the sand with a brush, and placed in the refrigerator, where they are stored at a temperature of +2-3°C for 2-3 days in a sealed container, wrapped in a paper napkin or sprinkled rice The disadvantage of the second method is that, along with the moisture that is destructive for the fungus, the grains no less intensively absorb the aroma - the main advantage of the truffle. There are other, less gentle ways to store delicate goods for a long time: “Truffles are washed, cleaned and placed in a jar, for example, with olive oil, which is subsequently used to prepare sauces,” says Roman Rozhnikovsky, co-owner of the Nostalgie restaurant. “Truffles can be stored.” in alcohol or cognac. However, true connoisseurs of truffles still prefer raw mushrooms. And if they are cooked, then in order for the black truffle not to lose its taste and aroma, it is placed in the oven for only 5 minutes, after having been wrapped in foil. All ancient recipes for preparing truffle dishes follow the same principle of minimal heat treatment. Baking or frying truffles is the same as making black caviar paste.”

Due to the pronounced qualities of the product - rich taste and long aftertaste - truffles are used exclusively as an additive to the main dish. The mushroom is sliced as thinly as possible or, as experts say, shaved immediately before serving with a special spatula. Then it is laid out on a warm dish, and it immediately begins to exude a strong aroma.

In restaurants you can order fresh truffles as an addition to any dish. Using miniature scales, the waiter weighs the mushroom in front of the client, cuts the required amount and weighs it again. The average price in Moscow restaurants is 5 USD. e. for 1 gram of black truffle.

“The amount of truffle added to a dish according to a client’s order depends mainly on the customer’s wallet. The average order is 5 g per dish, rarely exceeding 8-10 g,” says E. Zapolsky. However, all these grams ultimately add up to quite impressive figures: a fashionable restaurant consumes approximately 5-10 kg of truffles per year. What dishes can be decorated with truffles? Have many generations of truffle gourmets been able to deduce the laws of its compatibility with other products or does compatibility depend on the chef’s imagination? At first glance, the variety of truffle dishes of national French cuisine does not allow us to trace any unifying principle. “Generally speaking, truffle goes with everything,” E. Zapolsky is convinced. “However, being a product with a characteristic taste and smell that determines the taste of the dish as a whole, it still wins in dishes of “passive taste”, prepared from products that do not have their own pronounced taste."

Thus, according to the French, all recipes with truffles should be prepared on the basis of eggs (omelettes, scrambled eggs, soufflés with truffles). Truffles also accompany poultry dishes, served with lobster, and used in sauces. The truffle menu at the Nostalgie restaurant includes lobster salad with vegetables from Nice and black truffle sauce. For those who like to indulge in gluttony “according to the rules,” here is one more piece of advice on the principles of pairing truffle dishes with wines. When choosing wine, it is advisable to be guided by the principle of proximity in taste or, conversely, by the principle of contrast. For white wines, “Burgundy Grand Cru” and “Meursault” are suitable for truffles; for red wines – “Cahors”, “Bordeaux”.

For those who are ready for gastronomic adventures, there are no restrictions on the use of truffles. Any, the most unexpected combinations are possible, which, however, can only be appreciated by creatively minded and free-thinking experimental gourmets: “We had on the menu a dessert reminiscent of tiramisu, but with the aroma of truffle. I was delighted, but the guests were not,” - recalls R. Rozhnikovsky.

In fact, not everyone is able to experience gastronomic delight over truffles. What is the reason for the centuries-old hype around this unsightly mushroom? Each truffle expert has his own answer to this question. R. Rozhnikovsky’s version of the truffle’s appeal seems to explain the feeling of many: “Truffle is not food, but a catalyst for pleasure.”

Truffle is a favorite mushroom of all gourmets, proudly bearing the title of the most expensive product in its category. It is valuable for three factors at once: amazing taste, beneficial properties and aphrodisiac qualities. Next, we suggest taking a closer look at this mushroom. First, we will tell you and show in the photo what a truffle looks like, what are its features and what are its varieties. And then we’ll figure out how to properly collect the mushroom and where it grows in Russia. But first things first.

The fruiting body of the truffle has a round or tuberous shape and its dimensions resemble a nut. In rare cases, the mushroom is so large that it looks like a full-fledged potato. The outer layer of the truffle can be either smooth, or cut into small cracks, or covered with multifaceted warts. In cross section, the mushroom has a pronounced marbled texture, which is formed by the interweaving of light “internal veins” and dark “external veins”. Numerous spore sacs are located on these veins.

Truffles are primarily known for their culinary properties. They are actively used in many national cuisines for preparing sauces, pates, fillings for all kinds of baked goods, as well as as an addition to seafood or poultry. The mushroom is often served as an independent dish.

Truffle is a valuable and healthy mushroom

Another feature of truffles is useful composition. Mushrooms contain:

vitamins of groups C, B and PP;
vegetable proteins;
antioxidants;
fiber;
carbohydrates;
minerals.

Truffle juice is useful for various types of eye diseases, and mushroom pulp effectively helps relieve pain from gout. It is known that ripened mushrooms contain not large number anandamide, which has a calming effect on the nervous system. In addition, truffles contain strong pheromones that improve a person’s emotional background.

Important! Truffles have no serious contraindications, but their use is possible only if two conditions are met: the absence of an allergy to penicillin and the freshness of the product.

Types of truffles

There are more than a hundred varieties of truffles in the world, which are classified according to three factors: biological group, gastronomic value, geographical group. The most common among them are the following mushrooms:

Growing and collecting truffles

Finding and collecting mushrooms is a very difficult task, since truffles rarely appear on the surface of the soil. And they do not grow in all countries. So, in Russia only a few types of mushrooms are found:

Black summer ones - grow on the Black Sea coast and in the Caucasus, mainly in deciduous forests. They often settle in the root system of beech or oak. They can be collected throughout the summer season and at the very beginning of autumn.
Black winter - most often found in the Caucasus in forest areas with calcareous soils. Ripen from January to March.
White ones grow in several regions of Russia at once: Moscow, Tula, Smolensk, Oryol. They ripen from mid-autumn to early winter, but the most suitable collection period is the second half of October.

Advice. You can recognize an area where truffles are actively growing by the state of the soil and vegetation: the soil in such areas is gray-ashy in color, and the vegetation is somewhat stunted. Also, mushrooms can “give away” numerous midges above the earth tubercles, under which the fruits are hidden.

Truffles are searched for with the help of trained pigs or dogs: the mushrooms have a strong, specific odor that animals can sense even at great distances. It is recommended to carry out a kind of “hunt” at night.

Dogs help search for truffles

Mushrooms should be consumed within 3-4 days after collection. Only freezing or canning will help increase the shelf life of the product.

As you can see, the high cost of truffle is fully justified by its advantages: unique taste qualities, a wide maneuver for culinary experiments, positive influence on the human body. And even no matter how difficult the processes of searching, collecting and storing mushrooms may be, all these difficulties absolutely pale in comparison with the valuable properties of the product.

Searching for truffles in Russia: video

Content

Most Russians are accustomed to calling chocolate candies with a characteristic tart taste truffles. However, these candies got their name because external resemblance with unusual mushrooms. The latter are considered expensive and are especially appreciated by gourmets. When searching for a delicacy, difficulties often arise because it grows at a depth of 15 cm. If you are interested in the question of where real expensive truffles grow in Russia, then you need to figure out what climatic conditions are suitable for them.

What is a truffle

Truffles belong to the fungi of the marsupial genus, which have underground tuberous fleshy fruiting bodies. Unsightly appearance does not match their excellent taste and aroma. Once you try the delicacy, you will remember it for the rest of your life. He smells autumn forest: fallen leaves, earth, wet trees. Fresh truffles have a very strong aroma. Even if cooking is not your hobby, making truffles is easy.

The mushroom is located underground between the roots of beech, hornbeam, oak, birch, poplar, elm, linden, rowan, hawthorn and other trees. As it develops, it pulls all vital elements from the roots without causing any harm to the tree. Truffles love deciduous, mixed forests, soil with lime. Ripening time is from late summer to late autumn. The standard size of mushrooms is 10-15 cm, their weight is up to 500 g. Plants are found in the Volga region, Moscow, Oryol, Vladimir, Samara, Leningrad regions, the Caucasus and the shores of the Black Sea.

What does a truffle mushroom look like?

The fruiting bodies are round, tuberous in shape and have a fleshy, cartilaginous consistency. If we talk about size, it varies from a hazelnut to a potato tuber. On the outside, the fruiting bodies have a leathery layer called the peridium. It can be smooth, cracked, or covered with large polyhedral warts. If you cut the fruiting body, the tissue pattern will resemble marble. The shiny truffle inside has alternating light and dark veins: light veins are called “internal veins”, dark ones are called “external veins”.

Why truffle is the most expensive mushroom in the world

Truffles are called royal mushrooms - one of the most expensive. You can find sellers offering a kilo for over $4,000. The value of the product is explained by its rarity, unsurpassed taste and aroma. French and Italian have become famous throughout the world. There are two truffle capitals: Grignan and Aqualagna: here the fruits are collected almost all year round: white in autumn, black in winter, banchetto in spring, black summer truffles in summer.

White fruits are exquisite. They cannot be bred; they grow in very limited areas. For example, in Piedmont mushrooms are found only in the Langhe; sometimes they are found in Monferrato, Roero, and around Turin. The high price of such products is due to high demand and low supply. They differ in seasonality; they are on sale from October to January (the price depends on the variety). The most expensive delicacy is white. One day, a product weighing 1.2 kg was put up and sold at an Italian auction, its price was 95,000 euros.

Do truffles grow in Russia?

Russian truffle is called black summer mushroom– Tuber aestivum (from Latin). They reach a diameter of 10 cm, weight is 400 g. Age is determined by the pulp: its color is whitish, yellow-brown, gray-brown. As the fruiting body ripens, its consistency changes: in young mushrooms it is dense, in old mushrooms it is loose. The taste of truffle is slightly sweet, the aroma is reminiscent of hazelnuts and seaweed. The delicacy is found in Europe, the western part of Russia, under pine, hazel, and oak trees. The fruits can be found from June to October.

Summer black (Tuber aestivum)

This type of fruit is usually called Saint-Jean, scorzone, edible, Burgundy. The ripening period lasts all summer and ends in late autumn. The northern regions of Russia are distinguished by a different fruiting time - from mid-summer to November. Tuber aestivum is found at a depth of 3-15 cm. The fruits are located in groups or singly, form mycorrhiza with beeches, oaks, hornbeams, and are rarely located near birches and pines. They are often found in the southwest of Russia, on the Black Sea coast.

Winter black

The fruit is covered with warts 2-3 cm in size, its diameter reaches 20 cm. The fresh fruit has a reddish-violet tint on the outside, after harvesting the color darkens and becomes black. The truffle pulp is white, then turns gray and becomes gray-violet with many white, yellowish veins. The weight of such a fruit can be more than a kilogram. It often grows in Ukrainian, French, and Italian lands. Ideal places for plants are birch, oak groves, and beech forests. Active fruiting - from November to March. The truffle aroma is reminiscent of musk.

White truffle

The price of the product is significantly higher than previous ones. Reminiscent of Jerusalem artichoke tubers measuring 5-15 cm. Weight can be more than 1.5 kg. If you go for mature truffles, keep in mind that the surface of the mushroom is felt, while in young specimens it is smooth. When ripe, pits and protrusions appear on the outside, the color becomes light brown, yellowish. The pulp is white, in older fruits it is grayish with yellowish veins. The mushrooms have a nutty aroma. The older the fruit, the stronger the smell. “Tubers” are found in Vladimir, Smolensk, and Kuibyshev forests from late July to early November.

Where does truffle grow in Russia?

If you are interested in where truffles grow in Russia, then go to the Volga region, Vladimir, Nizhny Novgorod, Oryol, Samara, Leningrad region countries. The ripening period is all autumn months, the fruiting time is the end of autumn and the beginning of winter. The fruits are small in size - about 15 cm, weigh up to 500 g, and grow at a depth of 10-15 cm.

The black variety is considered summer treat. It is found in the Caucasus, on Black Sea coast, in the Moscow and Vladimir regions. Black specimens like to develop in deciduous and mixed forests with limestone soil, near the roots of oak, beech, hornbeam, hazel. The diameter of white fruits is up to 10 cm. Ripening and fruiting time is early summer - late autumn.

European part of Russia

Both black (Russian) and white (Polish) fruits are found. The first variety breeds in Podolsk, Belgorod, Tver, Leningrad land. Voronezh forest is famous a large number delicacy. Near St. Petersburg, black mushrooms are rare, but the white variety grows on Oryol and Tula soil. Remember that the warmer the climate, the greater the likelihood of finding a treat.

Caucasus and Crimea

These areas are known for their mild climate: there is everything for the active growth of the delicacy. There are many oak and beech groves concentrated here, which is favorable for the development of mushrooms. Large numbers are found on the Crimean land (steppe regions), the Northern and Western Caucasus, and in North Ossetia - Alania. It is worth highlighting Anapa, Gelendzhik, the village of Abrau-Durso, Western Caucasus: Adagum-Pshishsky district.

Delicacy mushrooms in Siberia

Many people, wondering where real expensive white truffles grow in Russia, do not suspect that the delicacy can grow on Siberian soil. The delicacy was first discovered in these places in the 19th century. The fruits grow both singly and in groups; they like to be located in deciduous and coniferous forests. Many porcini mushrooms are found on Tomsk soil. IN lately residents of the region began to collect fruits in kilograms, which is explained by favorable climatic conditions and active fruiting.

How to look for truffles

To find a truffle in the forest, you must have special knowledge. They are found near tree roots: often found near oak trees. Try to look for fruits not in clearings. Based on practice, such areas are not distinguished by a large number of mushrooms. It is desirable to have black soil with high humidity. Before you go searching, consider the following:

Examine the fruits in advance, live or in photographs.
Prepare to search for animals: specially trained pigs or dogs are suitable.

To make a “silent hunt” successful, focus on some features of the area. The rules for mushroom picking are as follows:

The “truffle” region, where the delicacy is located, is distinguished by stunted vegetation and gray-ashy soil.
Mushrooms rarely come to the surface of the soil (sometimes this happens due to strong winds or heavy rains), so look for them in the ground at a depth of 10-15 cm.
Pay attention to the tubercles, they should be dug out.
Midges often circle over a place with mushrooms: the larvae feed on mushrooms, so the insects lay eggs nearby.

Features of growth

A favorable place for the development of truffles is a large number of tree roots and soil with loose soil with a large amount of sand and lime. Experienced mushroom pickers say that if you find one specimen, then you need to continue looking for several more nearby. Typically, you can find about 5 pieces. Often truffle develops in families, rarely - alone.

Searching for truffles in the forest

People have been collecting unusual mushrooms for many years. It is important to consider that there are false and real mushroom. To return home with the desired loot, it is important to follow special technology:

Go to the forest where there are beeches, birches, oaks, and hazels.
Look for fruits near trees with large roots.
If the search is carried out with the help of pigs, then they should be muzzled, because the animals really love to feast on mushrooms.
Keep in mind the type of plant: its surface is rough, the flesh has a hard structure. The fruits resemble potato tubers in black or white shades.

Truffle hunting animals

Mushrooms have a very strong odor that animals can easily detect even from a distance. For this reason, experienced mushroom pickers prefer to keep specially trained dogs or pigs. The latter are able to smell at a distance of 25 meters. Once the aroma is determined, the pig will actively dig for the delicacy. If there is no muzzle, then you need to make sure that the pig does not eat what you find.

As for dogs, they are indifferent to eating treats, so it is not necessary to put on a muzzle before searching. Before using these four-legged “sleuths,” it will take a long time to teach the rules of searching for mushrooms. The dog needs to be trained to smell. If you are planning to buy trained dog, then keep in mind that it costs more than 5,000 euros.

Growing truffles at home

The delicacy is grown at home. If you take into account the recommendations listed above, you will eventually get a great treat:

It is first necessary to create a suitable microclimate, which should be the same in summer and winter. The mushroom does not like temperature changes.
Start purchasing trees: oak, walnut, beech. The roots of the trees must be infected with truffle mycelium. The price of the version with disputes is 10-15 dollars.
Choose places to plant trees: they should be protected from direct sun rays, wind, animals.
Pay attention to the soil, it should be alkaline. If necessary, add lime to the soil.
Do not use any fertilizers before planting trees because they may negatively affect the development of spores.
Plant purchased trees only after cultivating and preparing the soil. It is advisable to do this early spring when the weather outside is stable.
Plant the tree in a 75 cm hole: pour water and only then place the plant in it.
When planting, try not to damage the root system of the tree. Cover them with soil very carefully, then water them generously.
Sprinkle mulch around the root system of the tree at a distance of 30-40 cm: use oak leaves from last year.
The plants are covered with greenhouse film.
To feed trees, use special ready-made fertilizers (how to use them is indicated on the packages).

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Where in Russia do real expensive truffles grow - places where black and white grow?

A black diamond, the decoration of any table and a real delicacy in the world of mushrooms is the black truffle. It is highly valued by gourmets around the world, but not everyone can try it, since the cost of this delicacy is very high - 1 kilogram of truffle costs about 1000 euros! Why are people willing to pay through the nose just to taste this unusual mushroom? After reading the article, you will get acquainted with the description of truffle, find out where you can get it yourself, how to cook it correctly and what you eat it with.

Black truffle (Tuber melanosporum) is also called Périgord or French. It belongs to the Truffle family, to the genus of marsupial fungi of the same name, numbering about 30 species. It got its name from the Périgord region located in France. Edible and very tasty, highly valued by gourmets and mushroom fans, it is considered the most exquisite representative of the mushroom kingdom. It grows underground and for a long time was considered a generally inedible growth on the root of the host tree, similar to an earth tuber. The structure is quite unusual compared to other mushrooms.

the fruiting body is a modified apothecium, which is characteristic only of lichens and marsupial fungi. It is irregular or round, tuberous in shape, up to 9 cm in diameter, brown-red in color, changing over time to rich black (charcoal). If you press on the fruiting body, it will change color to reddish-rusty. Its entire surface is covered with small irregularities-warts, which can have up to 6 edges;
The pulp (meat) is dense, hard, in young mushrooms it is light in color - from gray to brownish-pink, with age it turns dark to violet-black. If you cut a black truffle, you can see bizarre white and red patterns on the flesh, which are visible even in adult mushrooms. The taste of the meat is bitter, but pleasant, and the aroma is special and very strong;
spores are oval or spindle-shaped, chocolate-colored spore powder.

Similar species and how to distinguish them from them

Sometimes the black truffle is confused with other species of the marsupial genus - summer and winter. The first differs from the hero of the article in that it has lighter flesh, and the second grows in the northern regions, unlike the black one.

Distribution and when to collect

The depth of truffles sometimes reaches 50 cm, which makes finding them very difficult for humans - which is why they are so expensive. The fungus prefers soils that are calcareous and not oversaturated with nutrients.

To try this mushroom, you will have to go to Europe. Although the Périgord truffle bears the name of an area in France, it is also common in other places and countries - it is collected in Spain and Italy and in the southwestern regions of France. The mushroom is also grown artificially in China.

The best time to hunt these truffles is from November to March. This mushroom is most often collected in the first months after the New Year.

Primary processing and preparation

Black truffles are famous throughout the world for their uniqueness and similar taste. However, those who tried this delicacy for the first time sometimes do not immediately understand its charms. Therefore, connoisseurs always advise trying the mushroom at least twice. Truffle lovers say that they respect it most for its unique and unusual aroma, which contains notes of forest, chocolate or alcohol.

You can prepare a lot of different dishes from truffles. In its raw form, it is used as a seasoning, but more often during the cooking process the truffle is subjected to heat treatment. It reveals its taste well in egg dishes, is added to pastas, and goes well with rice.

The shelf life of these mushrooms is very short, and during the harvesting season of the delicacy, French restaurants very often organize real wars to be the first to buy truffles on the market and then prepare masterpieces of culinary art from them, which gourmets from all over the world come to try.

The truffle can be preserved for a short time: in order for it to remain at least somewhat suitable for food, it is prepared using olive oil, frozen or stored in rice. You can also make a fragrant cream from this mushroom, which is eaten by spreading it on bread.

Search for truffles

To prepare a truffle, you first need to harvest it. This process is complex and requires serious preparation. They go hunting for mushrooms accompanied by specially trained dogs or pigs, who, thanks to their keen sense of smell, can smell a truffle even through a layer of soil. In this case, animals must not only discover its place of growth, but also carefully dig up the mushroom without damaging the roots of the tree or spoiling the fruiting body.

Another difficulty in finding and collecting truffles is that they grow singly, so you shouldn’t hope for a large harvest when you find one mushroom.

Red flies, a swarm of which will hover over its habitat, also help to find the place where the truffle grows. The fact is that the larvae of these insects develop in the fruiting bodies of mushrooms.

Truffles are also grown on farms. In this case, the mycelium is carefully planted and grafted onto the host tree artificially.

The special method of collection, the difficulty of storage, the extraordinary taste - all this makes the truffle such an expensive delicacy that not everyone can easily afford to order it in a restaurant. But on occasion, you should spare no expense and still try dishes with these unusual mushrooms and try to understand why the French love it so much.