Truffle is a unique and most expensive type of mushroom, very popular in European restaurants. Its unattractive appearance is completely incompatible with the amazing and very strong aroma of the forest and unforgettable taste. Having tried the delicacy once, you will remember it for the rest of your life. However, trying it is very problematic. The mushroom is so rare that the price on the market is simply off the charts: for 1 kg of black summer mushroom, sellers ask from 3,000 to 4,000 thousand euros, and for the rarer white variety, at least twice as much.
Do truffles grow in the forests of Russia and, if so, how to find them. This is what our article is about today.
The main assistants when hunting are not truffles
A very long time ago, when they first started using truffles for food, pigs were used for searching. Pigs, especially sows, detect the aroma of the mushroom themselves without special skills, so they are trained only to make it easier to take away the expensive delicacy from them.
Who helps look for truffle mushrooms and where they grow
Today, this method of searching for mushrooms has been preserved only in some parts of France; Italy has legally prohibited the use of pigs in mushroom hunting activities.
Hunters in France admit that searching for truffles with a pig is less mobile, more tiring and cumbersome; when found, the pig always tries to eat the mushroom in any way and there is a possibility that the surviving mushrooms will be spoiled.
Pigs are used in mushroom hunting activities due to their innate gift for this. But pigs aren't the only ones with a good sense of smell. Although dogs do not have an innate craving for eating this type of mushroom, they have an excellent ability to hear different aromas. All that remains is to teach them to identify the right one and find the source.
There are no special requirements for the breed of dogs for truffle searches, but in Italy they bred a special breed called Lagotto Romangolo. In the Piedmont region, it is believed that the best breed for searching for the mushroom is still the common mongrel, where they are affectionately called tabui.
Who helps look for truffle mushrooms and where they grow
The cost of a “truffle dog” of the Lagotto Romanangolo breed has a price range from 1,000 to 20,000 euros. The price directly depends on the length of the pedigree.
Is it worth looking in the Urals?
Until recently, it was believed that in Russia truffle mushrooms could only be found in the European part or in the south. The Ural climatic conditions have always been considered uncharacteristic for this delicacy. However, more recently, expensive black truffles were discovered in the Chelyabinsk region. Chelyabinsk resident Larisa Seregina found a delicacy beloved by gourmets. After her success became known from the media, a real boom in the search for such mushrooms began in the Southern Urals. But whether anyone else was lucky enough to find a real truffle in this region, unfortunately, is still unknown. However, in any case, albeit small, there is, of course, still a chance to find such a mushroom in the Urals.
Places of production of the most expensive items
Previously, we told you about which types are the most valuable. In this article we will tell you where you can get them.
Historically, these countries became the main ones in the production and collection of truffles:
- Croatia
- France
- Spain
- Italy
In Italy, the most valuable specimens are mined in the following regions:
- Emilia-Romagna
- Piedmont
- Tuscany
- Umbria
- Lazio
- Marche
- Campaign
- Lombardy
- Abruzzo
- Viento
- Molise
- Calabria
In France:
- Périgord
- Provence
- Burgundy
There is only a small part of Istria in Croatia
In Spain, the mushroom is searched for in the east-central part of the country, in the arid hills far from populated areas. Basically, residents of Spain do not eat white summer truffle; production in 95% of cases is for export to France.
Places of production of the top 6 types of truffle
- The most valuable is white
- Istria (Slovenia, Croatia),
- Italy(Tuscany, Piedmont, Umbria)
- Cato Ticino Switzerland in extremely rare cases
Fruits from September to January at temperatures below 10 degrees Celsius.
Dimensions from 2 to 6 cm. Rarely reaches 15. It grows at shallow depths and is mined only with the help of a special shovel.
- Winter black (precious)
- Historical areas - Provence and Périgord (Dortagne - southwest of the country)
- Italy has regions such as Umberia, Campania, Piedmont and Tuscany. In rare cases, other regions
- Aragon region in Spain
- Part of Croatian Istria
This mushroom bears fruit from November to mid-March. Has compact external data.
Description
Black truffle.
Fruiting body
It is represented by an irregularly shaped tuber, the size of which reaches from 3 to 9 centimeters. The surface of the fruit body is dotted with convex formations of regular geometric shape in the form of polygons with a number of faces from 3 to 6. The truffle is colored brown with a red tint, and over time it becomes black with a deep charcoal hue.
The flesh of a young black truffle is very dense, hard, and whitish-pink or gray in color.
French truffle.
As the mushroom ages, the flesh darkens, becoming first brown-red and then almost black with a purple tint.
On a cut of a mushroom of any age, white and red veins are clearly visible, giving the truffle pulp a characteristic marbled appearance.
The pulp of the mushroom, even if not cut, gives off a strong specific aroma and has a peculiar taste, reminiscent of chocolate with forest notes to some, and a noble alcoholic drink to others.
The spores ripen in the thickness of the mushroom pulp, have an elongated shape, and are curved.
Black summer truffle
Who helps look for truffle mushrooms and where they grow
? One of the most common species that grows in the following European countries:
- Switzerland
- Türkiye
- Austria
- Serbia
- Romania
- Hungary
- Bulgaria
- Ukraine
- Slovakia
- Czech
- Russia
- Lithuania
- Poland
- Sweden
- Denmark
- Germany
- Holland
- Belgium
- Great Britain
- Scotland
- Spain
- France
- Ireland
- Portugal
They are also found outside Europe in the countries of Morocco and Korea.
The harvest can be found from the very beginning of May to the end of November. Reaches up to 700 grams of weight.
Botanical characteristics
Truffle mushroom in Russia and beyond: where to find an expensive delicacy?
Truffles growing underground have a round or tuberous shape. The structure of the pulp is fleshy or cartilaginous. By type they belong to apothecia - organisms with an open fruiting body.
The surface layer of the fruiting body is leathery, sometimes smooth, covered with cracks or large polyhedral warts. When cut, the truffle pulp looks like marble. It consists of alternating veins of light (internal veins) and dark (external veins) colors. Light veins are the location of ascus (bags) where spores mature.
It is a mycorrhiza-forming fungus and in places where certain species grow it enters into a symbiotic association:
- black, summer and other types: form mycorrhiza with oaks, beeches, hornbeams and hazels;
- Piedmontese: enters into symbiosis with poplars, lindens, birches, rowan and hawthorn.
Fruiting occurs from August to November, but in other places where these mushrooms are grown - the French region of Grignan and the Italian region of Acqualagna - they are harvested almost all year round: the white ones grow in the fall, the black ones bear fruit in the winter.
Bianchetto – white summer truffle
Who helps look for truffle mushrooms and where they grow
? They are collected throughout Italy, as well as in:
- UK (South West England)
- France
- Spain
- Holland
- Belgium
- Ireland
- Finland
- Denmark
- Germany
- Slovakia
- Czech
- Poland
- Hungary
- Austria
- Croatia
- USA
- China
- Switzerland
This type of truffle is also cultivated on forest plantations and nurseries.
The sizes are small, like an average hazelnut, but they are also found to be the size of a chicken egg.
It grows from mid-January to the end of April.
Black winter – Burgudsky
Who helps look for truffle mushrooms and where they grow?
This species is of particular value in France and in recent years has become even more popular in other countries.
They begin to ripen in mid-autumn and bear fruit until the end of January.
It grows mainly in France and a little in Italy. They also learned how to cultivate it.
Reproduction method
Ordinary mushrooms reproduce in three ways:
- Vegetative propagation. Some parts of the fungus, mainly hyphae, break off from the mycelium and begin to germinate in other places, which give rise to a new mycelium, and therefore a mushroom.
- Asexual reproduction . The spores stored in the mycelium are blown by the wind or water to other places, thereby giving life to new mushrooms.
- Sexual reproduction . The germ cells of the fungus merge; or the fusion of the vegetative parts of the mycelium.
Truffle mushrooms spread a little differently : their spores are not carried by wind or water, but are carried exclusively by animals - only after the spores have entered the intestines of the animal and passed through it, emerging somewhere in the forest, near a tree, only then will it be possible to that a new shoot will appear. Their sexual reproduction is inactive; basically, only asexual reproduction is active.
Smooth black truffle
Who helps look for truffle mushrooms and where they grow
? Countries of production:
- Ukraine
- Romania
- Czech
- Switzerland
- Germany
- Serbia
- Great Britain
- France
And in the following regions of Italy:
- Marche
- Lazio
- Tuscany
- Umbria
- Lombardy
- Piedmont
- Liguria
- Viento
- Emilia-Romagna
It has a diameter of the fertile body from 2 to 5 centimeters and grows during the periods starting from the first days of September and ending with the new year. Most often found in the same soils as precious white.
What species can be found in Russia
There are mainly two types of truffle found in our country.
- White winter
- Black summer (Russian)
In the nature of Russia, black summer is found mainly near the Black Sea coast (Caucasus), the suburbs of the city of Sochi and on the Crimean peninsula.
The soil of mixed and deciduous forests is a growth zone for the fungus. In coniferous forests, hunters almost never encounter this “beast.” You need to look for it in soils near trees such as beech, oak and hornbeam. It grows extremely rarely in pine and hazel soils, but is still occasionally found.
He looks like a potato with large pyramidal warts
The central regions of our country allow you to find white truffles in their soils.
Regions:
- Orlovskaya
- Tula
- Smolenskaya
- Vladimirskaya
- Regions of the middle Volga region
- Rarely in the Moscow region and Leningrad region
It lives in the soils of oaks, less often than other deciduous trees.
Can you grow it yourself?
Growing truffle mushrooms at home is complex and difficult, but possible. It must be said in advance that it is not even worth trying to grow white truffles, because even in experienced laboratories it is difficult to do.
Before you start planting a mushroom, you need to follow a few rules:
- The soil should be taken from that which grows in broad-leaved forests, for example, oaks. It is advisable to plant there, artificially preparing the place.
- The soil must have a pH of at least 7.9.
- The soil must be thoroughly treated in advance with calcium, humus, and aerated; there should be no stones, weeds, etc. in it.
- Strictly ensure that no weeds arise for two years in oak and soil with mushrooms.
- Dry climate. Long rains have a bad effect on the ripening of truffles.
- In summer there should be no long heat. The optimal temperature is from 16 to 22 degrees.
- As little relief as possible.
- Do not forget to mechanically clean the soil.
Oak seedlings inoculated with truffle mycelium should be planted in the spring, when there will be no persistent frosts. The soil should be cleaned and well treated in advance. Next to the planting, in a 5x4 square, no more than 500 trees should grow. It is strictly forbidden to fertilize the soil before planting, as this can damage the fragile truffle mycelium. Treat the mycorrhizal root system with care.
Next, you need to dig deep holes in the ground, plant young oak trees there, then water well, cover the seedling with soil and water again. The hole should be about 75 cm deep to protect the seedlings from winds, frost, heat, etc.
In addition, cover the ground of each tree with a layer of mulch. During bad weather, cover them with film. It is advisable that spruce, fir, and willow pine trees should not grow next to them. They will disrupt the root system of the fungi, which will lead to their death.
As for fertilizer, they need to be fed with various mineral fertilizers, such as magnesium, iron, zinc, boron. Usually all this is contained in a special package of NPK fertilizers.
To prevent cracks in edible fruits, you need to sprinkle them with sand in a timely manner.
Harvest
The part of truffles that is edible is the fruit with spores. The fruit with spores is located in the ground at a depth of 20 cm. It will look black, ripe, and will smell pleasant.
If the fruit is rotten, then the rotten part can be cut off for consumption as food, but it is no longer suitable for sale.
Up to 10–15% of fertile bodies are located on the soil surface, while the rest is buried in the ground. To get them out, you need to use a spatula, carefully digging into the ground, trying not to damage the root system and the fruits themselves.
If the mushroom cannot be found in the ground for a long time or it has grown into a distant place, flies can be a pendulum for finding it.
Where can you find it in Ukraine?
Ukraine is very rich in this “beast” and in this country it is found in almost all the forests of the country, but mainly in the western part of the country. But on the territory of Ukraine it grows not only in deciduous and mixed forests, but also on the edges or clearings. Most often you can find white polish under hazel trees.
Ukrainian truffles are an endangered species, which was listed in the country’s Red Book and their collection is prohibited - this is prescribed by law.
To sell the delicacy in cafes and restaurants, special plantations were built, where they are cultivated on an industrial scale and without problems with the law of Ukraine.
Contraindications
Despite the fact that this mushroom is classified as edible, there are still some contraindications that should be taken into account before trying truffles.
Fresh truffle can be tried by nursing mothers and pregnant women. However, if the black truffle has been stored in the refrigerator for some time, or not at all in the proper way, then it is recommended to refuse to use it, due to the fact that the risk of poisoning increases.
Also, it is not recommended for children under 12 years of age to try truffles.
If you are allergic to truffle components, we recommend trying it in small pieces, gradually increasing the amount you eat.
It is also recommended that people who have stomach ulcers, as well as other diseases associated with the gastrointestinal tract, digestive organs, and so on, avoid eating this mushroom.
We strongly recommend that you approach this issue responsibly, as there is a high probability of serious poisoning or problems in the future.
Black truffle is a unique mushroom that is a real delicacy. Chefs in the most famous and expensive restaurants use it as the main ingredient for their most exquisite and luxurious dishes.
But still, if you really want to, you can find a truffle on your own, the main thing is to determine the place and time of the search. It is also recommended to take a responsible approach to preservation, since despite its edibility, this mushroom very quickly loses its beneficial properties and acquires negative ones.
What is worth saying from all of the above? If you are a true gourmet and also love everything new, black truffle should definitely be on the list of products that you should try. We hope that it will leave you with only pleasant impressions.
How are truffles collected?
Black Summer (Russian) settles close to the soil surface. The collection period occurs at the end of summer and beginning of autumn. The white harvest period, as the name suggests, falls in the months from January to March.
It is almost impossible to find them on your own and without preparation. Therefore, there are entire schools teaching collection techniques for people and dogs. It is impossible to find a mushroom without a special animal, so you should be especially careful when choosing a pig or dog. The mushroom is difficult not only to find, but also to remove it from the ground without damaging the shell of the mushroom and the root system of the tree. If its shell is damaged, it will almost completely lose its value.
Therefore, I advise everyone to go through a special school for collecting truffles, and also train your dog, mine accidentally damaged the mushroom and all I had to do was take it to my friend’s coffee shop and treat myself to delicious coffee with truffle crumbs.
Proper storage
In order for the truffle to retain its taste for as long as possible, it is necessary to carry out proper storage. If you want to preserve the taste of the mushroom for a long time, it is not recommended to wash it, and in general, to keep it in contact with water. That is why truffles collected in the forest just need to be carefully placed in a container and covered with plastic wrap on top. Store the truffles in a cool place in the house or in the refrigerator. This will create the effect that it is still underground, at a cool temperature, but without interacting with oxygen.
However, it is recommended to store mushrooms in this form for no more than one week. Then, it will begin to deteriorate and there is a risk of serious poisoning. Please take this information carefully, as it directly concerns your health.
