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TRUFFLES AND FRANCE’S ‘BLACK DIAMOND’ By Angela Clohessy
The most famous truffle market starting on the first Tuesday of December until mid-March is in Lalbenque which is close to Cahors in South West France. This market is busiest in the month of January, when the black truffles have their highest perfume and in December last year black truffles were sold for about €1,000 per kilo in some farmers' markets. It takes place in the main street, called "La rue du Marché aux Truffes” and is well worth a visit. The market opens on the dot of two o’clock and generally lasts just a few minutes with everyone hiding their “black diamond” treasure under red checked napkins, in paper bags or small wicker baskets. If you are to make a day of it then arrive before midday and have a truffle omelette in one of the restaurants that line the main street.
Truffles are strange looking fungi found just below the ground in open woodland, usually under oak or hazel trees, and their pungent aroma attracts many animals, particularly female pigs. The sow is said to be crazy about truffles because the truffle has the same musky smell as the sexual odour of the wild boar. Unlike mushrooms, truffle spores are not spread by the wind so they need animals to disperse them. Pigs need no encouragement to look for truffles. In fact, it requires constant vigilance and firmness on the part of the truffle hunter to prevent them from swallowing the lot. Nowadays, dogs are replacing pigs; they have no natural interest in truffles and can be trained to indicate with a paw the place where they have smelt
them. They are also smaller, more manageable, do not tire as easily, and they do not go into a sexual frenzy when approaching a truffle.
Out of the various varieties found in France the black truffle (tuber melanosporum) is located in the Périgord region and grows exclusively with oak. The black truffle is dark-brown to black and has a rough uneven surface. This specimen can be found late autumn and winter can reach 7cm in diameter and weigh up to 100 grammes.
The black Diamond truffle was said to be used as an aphrodisiac by Casanova. An analysis of the content of Black Diamond truffle reveals naturally occurring androstenol, androsterone and testosterone-quot;-all of which certainly have the potential to promote sexual performance. The Perigord truffle is also grown in other parts of the south-west and south –east in the Vaucluse region. Other truffle types include the summer white truffle (between May and August) and in November the Burgundy truffle, both grown in Northern France.
There is an imported truffle variety called the ‘Chinese truffle’ and is considered to be inferior in taste to native France’s truffles. Sometimes dealers try to pass these off as Périgord as they resemble the same colour. The best way to buy your truffles is from a regulated market or if from a supplier they can guarantee ‘their provenance’.
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