Everything You Wanted To Know About Truffle Farming But Were Afraid To Ask

The black winter truffle ( aka - Black Perigord Truffle or Tuber Melanosporum ) is being farmed here in the province of Huesca, Spain as a alternative crop. Truffle farming is still in its infancy in many aspects. Black winter truffle farms have been successfully established here in the province of Huesca, Spain and in many other parts of the country. Black winter truffle farms in Spain normally use the inoculated holm oak as the tree of choice when establishing a black truffle farm. Other types of trees can be used as your host tree, such as the downy oak or the hazel nut tree. The downy oak prefers a humid environment, while the hazel nut tree isnt very well adapted to dry conditions. That makes the holm oak the preference of choice as its a hardy tree and can withstand droughts better than the downy oak or hazel nut. The holm oak has the added advantage that it is very resistant to cross contamination of undesirable and lesser quality types of truffles.

Truffles grow on the roots of the above mentioned trees in something that is called symbiosis. In simple terms, that means that they basically grow in harmony with each other. The black truffle ports certain nutrients directly to the root system of the host tree and in exchange for this favor, the tree gives the truffle a place to live, grow and propagate. The black winter truffle usually grows just under the surface of the soil to a depth of about 30 cm ( about 10 inches ).

The black winter truffle is found in the wild between the latitudes 40 N to 47 N. That basically corresponds to Valencia, Spain to about Paris, France. It is mostly found in Spain, France and Italy. They are also found to a lesser degree in Hungary and the ex Yugoslavia region. Here in the province of Huesca, Spain, the soil has a natural high PH balance which makes it a very good area to establish a black winter truffle farm. The black winter truffle prefers a soil PH balance between 7.0 to 8.5. The truffle / holm oak prefers a rocky soil ( marginal ), good draining properties, well established organic matter, low clay content and some sand doesn't hurt.

Black winter truffle farms have been established in Australian, Tasmania, New Zealand, S. America and the USA. There has been a certain degree of success with these farms. You have to remember that the black winter truffle was not native to these habits or areas of the world. But, with enough planning and management, you can prepare your land to be adequate for a successful black winter truffle farm. If you dont live in a part of the world where a black winter truffle farm is feasible for whatever reason, there are other types of truffles that can be grown successfully. Even thou they might be of lesser commercial value, they are well worth the effort.

In the old days, female sows were used to find black truffles here in Europe. The ripe black winter truffle emits a pheromone like smell similar to a male pig in heat, hence the sows interest in finding it. But the female sow also liked to munch the tasty truffle. Some of the old timers that used sows had bits of their finger tips missing. They had to stick their fingers in the sows mouth to recover the valuable prize, the sow didnt want to relinquish her tasty truffle and bit down, sometime catching the offending finger in the process. Today dogs are used as a matter of connivence, A dog will happily jump into the car to chase truffles. Can you imagine the chore of getting a 300 pound unwilling pig into the back seat of your car?

Take care when you buy black winter truffles online or in a market. Make sure they specify black winter truffle, tuber melanosporum or black perigord truffle. The black winter truffle smells similar to a rain soaked forest ( or so I think ), everybody has their own opinion of what a fresh black truffle will smell like. When someone 1st tries the black winter truffle, they either love it instantly or reject it it. If someone is indecisive at 1st if they like it or not, they will always come back that they do not like them. Its either love at 1st bite or no thank you.

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