Why Real Truffles Are So Expensive | So Expensive

Fancy cousins ​​to mushrooms,

truffles

are a delicious food enjoyed around the world. But these aromatic mushrooms will cost you. In 2014, the world's largest white truffle was flown to New York accompanied by a security guard and sold at auction for $61,000. Discovered in Italy, this gigantic mushroom weighed almost 2 kilos. So what makes them so

expensive

? There are many types of truffle. There are at least 40 species, many of which are inedible, and new species have been discovered in 2018. You've probably seen fancy truffle products in supermarkets or fancy restaurants, but the unique truffle flavor you recognize may not be be the same.

real

truffle at all.

Cheap truffle oil often doesn't come close to a

real

truffle. Many cheaper truffle products use 2,4-dithiapentane, a synthesized compound that contains one of the main aromatic components of foot odor, which guarantees that "earthy" flavor. Real

truffles

are seasonal and

expensive

, with a short shelf life. They were originally detected using truffle pigs, but while pigs are very good at finding truffles, they are also very good at eating them. And today, dogs are much more common companions in truffle hunting. These mushrooms can be found all over the world, but they all require a very specific climate to grow.

While different varieties may have somewhat different requirements, one thing is for sure. You can't have truffles without trees. James Feaver: Truffles are always found on trees and they have to be the right type. Underground, the truffle is only the fruiting body, that is, the equivalent of an apple. And we also have a lot of what we call mycelium, threads at a microscopic level and up to 100 meters in a teaspoon of soil. And this mycelium is actually attached to the roots of a tree like the fingers of a glove to a hand. And it kind of extends the reach of the tree.

And it actually takes water and nutrients and passes them to the tree, and the tree in return gives it sugars, to help the truffles, the fruit, develop. Narrator: Even when you have exactly the right conditions, truffles are not guaranteed and hunting them is a labor-intensive process. Once you know where to look, you have to sniff and dig up each truffle by hand, and it can be tricky to find them. Feaver: Good boy, thank you, good boy, come! Then he told us that it is still underground. So do I want to get it out of the ground or not?

It all depends on whether it is ripe. If it's not ripe, there's no point in having it. Then the nose comes into play. And in fact we sniff the ground in search of it. Narrator: It may take a while, but finding a good one can make the work worth it. Feaver: Yeah, that's a good one. Yes, it's probably about 70 or 80 grams. Narrator: Truffles also have a short season, often appearing for only a few months of the year. And even when you get them, they don't last long. Fever: A green truffle, unlike a tomato, which you can cut off the vine and ripen on your windowsill, once the truffle comes out of the ground, the clock is ticking.

So it will slowly degrade over time. That's why we want to get it to customers in a pleasant and fast way. Narrator: After just five days out of the ground, that pungent truffle smell will have been reduced by half. Many varieties of truffles can be grown, in addition to the rare Italian white ones. Many people have managed to establish truffle orchards, but it is not easy. Trees should be planted in the right soil conditions, inoculated with the truffle fungus, and often watered constantly. It can take up to six years before you get a good crop of truffles, and there is no guarantee that the mushrooms will grow at all.

So after all that effort, what do they really taste like? Ju Shardlow: Oh. Claudia Romeo: Mmmm. Leon Siciliano: The smell made me think it was going to be very strong. The flavor is actually quite subtle. There is madness there. There's like an earthy flavor there. Ju: Actually, quite light and fragrant. It tastes much better than it smells. It smells like wet socks. Claudia: That's good. I mean, this is the first time I've eaten a truffle alone. You know, it's a bit like a mushroom, but it's more of a meaty morsel. Narrator: Today, agriculture has become our main source of truffles and today 70% of the world's truffles are grown.

Due to forest loss and climate change, the number of wild truffles has decreased significantly. Since the 19th century, production in France has fallen from more than 1,000 tons per season to just 30 tons. And climate change could mean that truffles will disappear completely in the future. Fever: Climatic conditions are very important, not only immediately, but throughout the season. We're getting much lower numbers and a much lower average size. A truffle is approximately 70% water, so it needs rain to grow. Some truffle scientists in the UK think that in traditional areas the climate will move further north and there will be no truffle industry in about 50 years, I think.

There are threats, there are opportunities, but rain, we need rain. When a dry summer arrives, vacationers rejoice, but I still keep my fingers crossed for a little rain from time to time.