#tuber himalayensis

[krautjunker]

Kostbare Knollen, manchmal

von Archi W. Bechlenberg „Das köstliche Aroma der Trüffel beruhigte ihn. Er schnüffelte, seufzte, atmete und fraß, Rüssel und Zunge halten die letzten Brösel aus den Ecken des Sackes heraus. Und all das Köstliche hatte er alleine gefunden.“ Samson, das Trüffelschwein, nimmt Rache an Emile, seinem Herrn. Immer nur mit alten Käsebrocken abtgespeist zu werden, das ist dem Eber in Patricia…

[setbabiesonfire]

Black truffle mushrooms, known as the "diamond of the kitchen" and has been referred to as the crown jewel of foods, are one of the most expensive foods in the world for the reason that they are an underground-growing type of mushroom that only occur at the base of specific trees, for only a few months per year, and must be tracked by scent by either a trained dog or, traditionally, pigs. Pigs are attracted to a compound inside the truffles and go straight for their underground hiding-spots, but pigs are also more prone to eating the truffles than giving them over to humans. A single two-pound Australian black truffle was sold for a record 300,000 dollars, although most fine truffles are traditionally French or sometimes Italian ("perigord" truffles) due to their ideal climates and soils in certain regions. The value and lucrative nature of these mushrooms and the business involving them has led to gang- or mafia-style aggression within the trade (much like olive oil has, but worse); resulting in robberies, kidnappings, beatings, all sorts of sabotage, and even murder. Truffle-collectors have even had their trained dogs stolen from them, never to see them again. For reasons akin to these, many truffle peddlers make deals in unmarked transport vans in back alleys (really). Recently, due to a rapidly changing climate and the large-scale loss of ideal habitat, European truffle production has gone from 200 tons per year just a century ago, down to 30 tons per year in current years. Another problem the French truffle faces is the import of Chinese truffles, which aside from being a different species (tuber indicum & tuber himalayensis) from the French perigord type, it isn't harvested by scent by animals and is instead dug up with tools by huge teams of workers axing away at the ground. The resulting effect is that the mushroom isn't quite at its prime and the quality suffers, which naturally makes Chinese truffles less expensive (~$30 per gram) but in turn destroys the business of French truffles, which literally cost hundreds for just a few flakes shaved atop fancy dishes in fine restaurants. In China, before the realization that money could be made off the exportation of their mushrooms, the Chinese fed them to their pigs. A secondary effect of the large-scale introduction of Chinese truffles into Europe has been similar to that of the introduction of the invasive Kudzu vine from Japan - the rampant spreading, or invasion, of these truffle types have been working to diminish the numbers of Perigord and authentic traditional mushrooms as well. What does it all mean? Well, between pigs eating them, trained mushroom dogs being kidnapped, competition being killed, the climate becoming more and more unfavorable, the soil becoming more acidic, the introduction of counterfeits making genuine products rarer, and the destruction of habitat by invasive introduced species means that it's a great time to get into the business and make some money while you can! 😂