The Wine & Truffle Co -
Sydney Morning Herald

Buried treasures

November 13, 2008

Many foodies consider truffles to be black gold; a pungent, wonderfully aromatic ingredient that is an intriguing combination of the lusty and the forbidden. Truffles are often considered the ultimate food.

Truffles originated in Italy and France and can fetch thousands of euros per kilogram, even at France's famed Perigord market. Prices in Australia can reach more than $5000 a kilo, though $2500 is more usual. It's no wonder, then, that growers in cold climes across the nation have been hankering to cultivate them.

To create a truffle forest, oak and other trees are inoculated with spores and cultivated for a few years. The fungus needs a certain amount of moisture, and some incredibly cold winter nights to really ripen. But from Tassie to Orange in NSW, from Victoria to Western Australia, the lumpy black nuggets have been successfully harvested.

Some of the most successful plantings so far are in and around far-flung Manjimup, a bitingly cold region 31/2 hours south of Perth. This area is producing hundreds of kilograms of truffles each year. And now, thanks to a French chef who's ecstatic about the harvest, Western Australia hosts Australia's first truffle festival, a winter celebration of this majestic, but it must be said quite ugly, fungus.

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