Truffle is an annual natural fungal plant, which mainly grows under the soil near the roots of oak whiskers. There are about 30 kinds, of which white truffles and black truffles are the most delicious. Usually, truffles are irregular spherical in appearance, some are as small as beans and some are as big as Fuji apples. After cutting, it looks like a maze of marble lines.
Because truffles are very picky about the growing environment, they can't grow as long as the pH value of sunlight, water or soil changes slightly, which is why truffles are so rare. How expensive are truffles? Moso Henry, who has been planting truffles for decades, said that the best truffles in the world are white truffles from Alba, Italy, which cost $35,000 per kilogram, and black truffles from Perigord, France, which cost at least $500 per kilogram.
"Edible white diamond ..." "Tastes like earth and garlic, smells like natural gas, some like cheese, some like onions, but unlike it, it tastes like cabbage ..." "Taste of heaven ..." These are all words used to describe the smell and taste of white truffles. Yes, the scientific name of white truffle is Tuber magnatum, which is one of the most expensive foods in the world. If the price of black truffles is similar to that of gold with the same weight, then only diamonds can compete with the price of white truffles.
White truffles are rarer and more expensive than French black winter truffles and Perigord truffles, and only grow in northern Italy and Croatia. This kind of white truffle is called Duke Truffle. The best white truffles can only be found in Piedmont, especially near the town of Elma. White truffles only grow from mid-June to the end of February. It is difficult to find them because they grow in the soil near the roots of trees. Truffle hunters usually use trained hounds to sniff them out. Truffles cannot be farmed artificially, which is one of the reasons why they are so expensive. The price of white truffles fluctuates every year, but it usually ranges from 800 to 1500 USD per pound (453g).
Truffles and caviar, champagne, oysters and foie gras all mark the most expensive luxuries in food. Their price and taste are the same, which is one of the reasons that attract many diners. For truffles, their legendary aphrodisiac effect also adds magical color to white truffles.
White truffles are usually called white diamonds. One of the reasons is that, like diamonds, they look ordinary or even ugly before carving. When the white truffle was first dug out, it looked like a clumsy, dusty potato. But once cut, it will reveal marble-like lines, ivory-like patterns and intoxicating fragrance. The heavenly taste of white truffles mainly comes from its aroma, so it is generally not heated. The most common way to eat it is to cut it into very thin slices, with fresh egg noodles and then with Italian juice. Such delicious food is imaginable.
exorbitant price
Truffles are called "diamonds" by the French, and their value is juxtaposed with high-quality foods such as caviar and foie gras, and they are known as the "three kings" in food. The unique smell of truffles makes it an extremely precious seasoning sacred product in French cuisine and Italian cuisine. I believe many people have heard the name truffle, but what exactly is truffle? In fact, truffle is a fungus, an underground ascomycete, which forms an absolute symbiotic form with the roots of oak, Cyclobalanopsis and pine. Therefore, it is called ectomycorrhiza.
The largest white truffle in history was found in 195 1, weighing about 4 pounds, and then sold for about $5,000. In the years immediately after the end of World War II, the preciousness of $5,000 can be imagined.
In 2004, the United States held a truffle competition with truffles as the ultimate food. Organizers use online video to establish contact with big restaurants in new york and Los Angeles, so that gourmets from two big cities can bid. In this auction, three precious Oba truffles participated in the auction. The most striking thing is a piece of white truffle produced in Alba, northern Italy, which weighs one kilogram, while the usual truffle is only one tenth of its weight, so it is extremely precious. With the help of the host of the popular American TV program "Life with Wealth", the original price of this white truffle was 8,000 US dollars, and it was immediately increased to 30,000 US dollars by chefs on both sides of the strait. In the end, Pitka, the owner of La Bastille restaurant and a famous film and television director, beat his opponent with a sky-high price of $35,000. Porto, the head of the restaurant, told the reporter of European Daily: "It weighs one kilogram of white truffles, and the price of 35,000 dollars is worth buying." Interestingly, Genshe IV, a 9-year-old hunting dog who found this big truffle, also participated in the auction on behalf of the owner.