In this article, we will look at what truffles look like, where they grow and how they are found. We will also tell you in detail about the most popular types of these mushrooms: French and Italian truffles, winter and summer truffles, Chinese truffles ...
Truffles called mushrooms with underground tuberous fruits, in other words, they are mushrooms that resemble the tubers of ordinary potatoes. Edible types of truffles are considered valuable delicacies, they are called real truffles.
Other mushrooms with similar tuberous fruiting bodies are often called truffles. Among them there are also edible species, but in cooking they are valued much lower than real truffles. They are sometimes marketed as a “fake delicacy”.
Truffles have a mushroom flavor with deep roasted seeds or walnuts and a strong characteristic aroma. If a truffle is immersed in water and held, then it acquires the taste of soy sauce.
The fruiting bodies of truffles are located underground at a depth of 10–30 cm, but they can also live at a depth of 30–50 cm underground. They are round or tuberous in shape and are characterized by a fleshy or cartilaginous consistency. The size ranges from hazelnut to large potato tuber.
Truffles grow in deciduous forests between tree roots. So, black truffle and summer truffle grow next to oak, beech, hornbeam, hazel, and Piedmont truffle - with birch, poplar, elm, linden, mountain ash, hawthorn.
Description of appearance
Truffle belongs to marsupial mushrooms. Its fruit body measures from 2.5 to 10 cm in diameter, located at a depth of 40 cm in the soil.
The surface of the body of the fungus is uneven with pits and cracks, dark in color with a blue-brown tint. When cut, the young truffle is white, turning creamy brown over time.
A raw mushroom has a nutty flavor of a nut or resembles fried seeds, and the smell is damp and algae.
Where and how exactly the fetus grows
A feature of these fruit bodies is that they grow underground next to the roots of not all trees, but only such as oak, beech, hornbeam, linden and poplar at a depth of 5 to 30 cm, but usually somewhere around 20 cm. The most valuable are those that were found just near the oak tree. They grow in small groups, on average 7 pieces, but you can also find single fruits.
The fruiting body of a truffle is located underground
Naturally, they are found in forest areas from deciduous, much less often mixed or coniferous trees. In general, the distribution area is quite wide: Europe, Asia, North Africa, the United States of America. The search process itself is very painstaking and complicated.
You need to be overly careful and involve dogs or pigs in picking mushrooms, because otherwise you will not be able to find them underground. In addition, they must be dug out very carefully so as not to damage them.
In Russia
To the surprise of many in Russia, you can often find these rare mushrooms. In addition, different types are found.
In the Leningrad region and the Moscow region
White or gold truffles are found in this region. Most often, they choose glades of mixed forests, where there is a lot of sunshine. They are also found on the edges of oak forests, in birch groves.
Very often dogs are attracted to collecting truffles
In Crimea
Winter dominates here. Traditionally, it is harvested from late autumn to early spring. Moreover, when they grow up, they reach rather large sizes - up to 15 cm, and their weight reaches one kilogram.
In Ukraine
The black summer species can be found in deciduous and mixed forests of Ukraine, where it is harvested from November to January-February. It is most widespread, if I may say so about a rare mushroom, in the Volyn, Chernigov and Sumy regions. But here, too, its search will take a lot of time.
Truffle types
The most valuable species are considered: winter, Perigord, Piedmont. In Russia, the only species is summer truffle.
Summer truffle
Summer truffles can be found in mixed and deciduous forests. Prefers to coexist with oak, birch, beech, hornbeam roots.
Experienced mushroom pickers know that the truffle grows in summer and autumn, and yellowish flies hover over the fruit bodies. This is where they lay their eggs.
Summer truffles can be found in Central Europe and on the Black Sea coast in the Caucasus.
Beneficial features
Truffles are fragrant and tasty mushrooms, but they cannot be stored for a long time. During the harvest season, they are eaten raw. White and black truffles are bought by elite restaurants in small quantities. The larger the fruiting body, the more expensive it is.
These mushrooms are saturated with vitamins C, PP, B1 and B2, proteins and healthy carbohydrates. When eaten, the pheromones in their composition lift the mood. Antioxidants improve blood composition.
White truffle juice is used to treat glaucoma and other eye diseases. With gout, regular consumption of mushrooms leads to long-term remission or complete recovery.
Piedmontese or white
Due to their light color, they are easy to find. The Piedmontese truffle mushroom grows in Italy and France. Outside, they have a brown or yellowish tint.
The cut shows a yellow-gray, cream-colored pattern. The smell of this species is reminiscent of cheese with garlic. Harvesting is done in the fall.
Tips for mushroom pickers
It is not enough to know where the truffle grows; it is more important to have information on how to look for it.
You need to look for it at the roots of deciduous trees, mainly oak or (in the south) hornbeam. Truffles do not grow one by one, therefore, having found a mushroom, you need to take a good look at the surrounding area. Above the truffles, sometimes there is soil dug by animals, a noticeable tuberosity of the surface, small midges curl.
But it is most likely to take a specially trained animal - a dog, a pig - as assistants. Preference should be given to the dog, because, being easily guided by the smell, it will not show a desire to eat the trophy found. A dog trained to search for truffles can be bought, although it is expensive. But looking for truffles will be much easier.
Benefit
Consider the properties of the mushroom that make it possible to use it in small quantities as a delicacy.
They consist of vitamins C, PP, B1, B2, proteins, minerals, fibers.
The juice of these mushrooms treats eye diseases and also relieves gout attacks.
Truffles have a characteristic smell - these are pheromones that are responsible for feelings and emotional perception of a person, therefore they are called "natural Viagra".
Precautions.
Mushroom pickers who want to go hunting for white truffles need to arm themselves in advance with information regarding this delicious mushroom and its dangerous counterparts. For a long time, truffles were not popular in our latitudes, so mushroom pickers do not have enough experience, and they often bypass this mushroom, fearing to make a mistake. Collecting and preparing white truffles began relatively recently - in the 90s.
In some countries, the truffle is classified as an inedible mushroom. There are research results that show the presence of small amounts of toxins that are present in the pulp of overripe mushrooms, but young truffles are completely safe.
The danger is posed by false counterparts, with which the edible variety can be confused. Melanogaster Bruma, which is also called false truffle, looks like an edible one, but only in the very early stages of growth. Having cut such a mushroom, you can immediately make sure that it does not correspond to the description of a white truffle - its pulp is jelly-like, soft and colored from purple to black. Therefore, the risk of confusing an edible truffle with a false one is not great.
Using
Looking at the photo of the truffle mushroom, it is difficult to assume that it is eaten.
French cuisine offers such combinations as mushroom with lobster, poultry, even fruit.
In cosmetology, mushroom extract is used to prepare creams and masks for aging skin.
The presence of antioxidants helps to tighten the skin and reduce the number of wrinkles and pigmentation.
What it smells like and how it tastes
It is difficult to describe all the nuances of the intense aroma and earthy taste of the truffle - it really needs to be experienced. People who have tasted the fresh, authentic truffle note its special aroma. Definitions of "musky", "garlic", "sulphurous" and "disturbing with woody notes" are very common. Some of the distinctive scent is believed to come from the organic compound androstenone, a hormone produced by male pigs that makes female pigs excellent truffle hunters.
Different types of mushrooms have different sets of aromatic molecules at each stage of their development. There are about 35 odorants, the smell of which ranges from meaty and dusty to buttery and creamy.
For example, dimethyl sulfide smells like sulfur - 85% of truffle species emit it. Fungi can generate this substance on their own, but it can also be produced by bacteria that intensively colonize truffles. Other common truffle aromas smell like chocolate and whiskey, and the hexanal, which smells like grass, can also come from both microbial activity and the fruit bodies themselves.
The pungency of aroma is not for the pleasure of gourmets... It is vital for truffles, because the reproduction process depends on how the animals smell underground, dig up and eat the mushroom, spreading spores in the environment.
