White March truffle (Tuber borchii) photo and description

Description and photo of black truffle

Perhaps one day you are lucky and you will find black truffles while walking. Also, some specially fly to France in order to taste fresh rare mushrooms.

But how to understand that this is the very truffle in front of you? To do this, you need to know what it looks like.

Fruiting body

The fruiting body of this mushroom is well remembered by anyone, even from a picture. Firstly, truffles are most often of an uneven oval shape, very similar to a potato tuber. Painted in a dark color. If you look at the pulp of this mushroom, you will be surprised. At first, it has a light beige hue, but when interacting with oxygen, it quickly turns into a black-violet hue. However, white streaks remain inside.

The truffle grows underground, so the skin is hard enough not to deform under the earth.

It has an irregular shape in the form of a tuber. Most often, the diameter of the fruiting body varies from 3 to 10 cm.

The color of the truffle deserves special attention. It has a shade closer to dark brown, however, as it matures, it turns coal black. However, if you press firmly on the elastic skin of the mushroom, it will take on a rusty color. Truffles are very rough. Their surface is covered with all kinds of irregularities and several faces. However, despite this, it is very pleasant in the hand. Coldness blows from the skin.

The flesh of this mushroom is quite tough. Therefore, fresh truffles cannot impress everyone with their taste. It is believed that the pulp, after interacting with oxygen, gets drunk and becomes truly healthy and tasty.

In terms of smell, aroma and taste, the pulp has a characteristic strong aroma. It is very pleasant and mostly mushroom. The taste is also acceptable, albeit slightly bitter.

Truffles, like many mushrooms, are propagated by spores. Its powder is dark brown. The spores themselves are oval in shape, less often they can be curved and branched.

Where it grows and how to find

If you are eager to try this delicious mushroom, then you should definitely go to France. It is there that approximately 60% of the total number of black truffles is grown. The largest congestion is observed at Perigord. This is a region of France that is simply permeated through and through with these mushrooms. Therefore, in the season here you will see crowds of tourists.

Also, in addition to Perigord, you can go to the southeastern part. There is the Gironde and the Dordoi. In addition, black truffles are chosen for growing in a country with a warm and pleasant climate. Therefore, they can be found in Italy and Spain. Also, they are present in the PRC.

For a long time it was believed that a truffle is just a kind of growth on the roots of trees. However, these marsupials have shown two interesting characteristics over time.

The first feature is that an unknowing person will pass by and never find that there is a truffle under his feet at a depth of 5 to 20 cm. That is why these mushrooms are very difficult to find, and they are harvested in small quantities. The second feature is that the truffle chooses only calcareous soils for its growth and development, and it also likes to settle near the roots of trees, where it feels as comfortable as possible.

Also, the truffle is a real finicky choice of trees, next to which it is going to grow and develop. Most often they accept oaks or hazels.

Why are truffles trying to fit next to trees? Most often, they need nutrients, which the tree receives from the ground in large quantities. The truffle mushroom is gently woven into the root, as a result of which the mineral salts and water necessary for growth and development are obtained.

However, this is a mutually beneficial symbiosis.The tree shares its nutrients, and the mycelium of the truffle reliably protects the roots from various putrefactive processes.

However, the truffle has a detrimental effect on small vegetation in the form of grasses and moss. It dies, since the nutrients are mainly obtained by trees and mushrooms.

As for the harvest time, the black French truffle bears fruit from December to the twenties of March. However, truffle hunters get on the train already in the first winter months.

In order to find the truffle, the French use specially trained pigs that have the ability to smell at great distances. However, pigs have a detrimental effect on forest soil, destroying it over time. Also, often pigs can damage the mycelium, as a result of which fungi will no longer appear in this place. Therefore, recently it is customary to use specially trained dogs.

Varieties

White truffle has an exquisite taste and aroma. In the process of growth, it forms a kind of symbiosis (mycorrhiza) with coniferous or deciduous trees.

There are several varieties of white truffles:

Piedmont (Tuber magnatum);
March (Tuber borchii, Tuber albidum);
Duronsky (Tuber excavatum);
Variegated (Tuber maculatum);
Moroccan (Tuber oligospermum);
Oegon spring (Tubergibbosum).

Truffle White Piedmont (Italian): This species grows in southern Europe. Fruiting from early October to late November. If the weather permits, until January it is found under deciduous or coniferous trees. Its size reaches a volume of 12-15 cm with a weight of 20 g to 1 kg 125 g. The aroma is strong, characteristic (the smell of cheese with garlic). The white Piedmontese truffle is considered the most valuable of all known types. It does not grow in the Moscow region.

Truffle White March: This type is considered European. Symbiotic relationships are formed with deciduous trees, in rare cases with conifers. It is small in size, up to 7 cm in diameter, and weighs from 25 g to 260 g. The taste and smell are subtle. Not particularly valuable in cooking. Known in Crimea. The color changes with the age of the fungus. Young specimens are whitish, then beige and red-brownish at the end. Favorable time for collection is the end of February and March. By the way. With age, the pleasant smell of the truffle is modified and becomes repulsive.

Duronsky white truffle: grows everywhere in Russia and Europe. It thrives on deciduous or coniferous species from September to December. Its size is up to 4 cm, weight is up to 70-80 g. The aroma is interesting, sweetish-spicy, the pulp is dense. In Europe, it is collected independently, but not very often.

There are several types of truffles

White variegated truffle: grows both in Europe and in Russia in conifers (including those with fir) or deciduous forests. Mass collection takes place from June to early September. The sizes are small, up to 1-2 cm and very rarely up to 7 cm. The usual weight of apothecia is 5-20 g and rarely up to 200. The aroma is refined, pleasant. On the basis of the pulp of representatives of this species, they make a delicious, strong-smelling oil for flavoring dishes.

White Moroccan truffle: found in North America, in oak, pine and cedar groves. Mass collection takes place in a short period of time (May-June). Not of interest to the restaurant business. This variety is characterized by a pleasant sweetish nutty aroma. Small size - 2.5-5.5 cm, weight - up to 130 g.

Oregon spring truffle: rarely found in North America (in the northwest), in Canada. It does not grow on the territory of Russia. Fruiting from March to May, in rare cases - to June. It looks neat, has a size of 1.5-5 cm. Weight - from 4 to 200 g. It has a pleasant aroma with a slight hint of spices. The smaller the mushroom, the more expensive it is. It is massively harvested and used in cooking.

Irina Selyutina (Biologist):

On the territory of the Russian Federation, a widespread type of truffle White truffle (Choiromyces meandriformis), which has the names of synonyms - Polish truffle, Troitsky truffle. Despite the Russian-language name "truffle", this species does not belong to the genus Tuber, like real truffles, but to the genus Choiromyces from the same Truffle family (Tuberaceae). This species does not have the same value as real truffles. It grows in several types of forests - coniferous and deciduous.In coniferous forests, it can be found among young pines, and in deciduous forests, it can be found next to birches, aspens, or in hazel trees. The fruit body is located in sandy or clay soil at a depth of no more than 8-10 cm, and sometimes a kind of tubercle without vegetation forms on the soil surface. Has a strong odor. It does not occur annually.

This species belongs to the 4 taste category. It is noted that this type of mushroom is characterized by a meat rather than a mushroom taste.

In the Kostroma region, this species is known as "cow bread".

Truffle mycelium of any kind usually gives rise to 3-7 fruiting bodies, which are arranged in a circle and form a "nest". These places among the collectors were called "truffle".

It takes 3-4 months for a truffle to fully develop.

Application

Truffles are used in medicine, cooking and cosmetology.

Cooking applications

These mushrooms are purchased in small batches and stored in tightly closed containers, covered with olive oil or covered with rice grains. If you have to use it for a longer period, it is shockingly frozen.

Irina Selyutina (Biologist):

If you happen to become a happy truffle owner while picking mushrooms, they will help you diversify your table.

And in order not to spoil such an expensive mushroom, it is important for you:

remove all soil from the surface of the truffle and wash it thoroughly just before eating. It is necessary to clean the mushroom perfectly, because you only need to cut it with a shell;
after washing, dry the fruit body with a paper towel;
for slicing is used the so-called. truffle slicer. You can take an ordinary knife, but the slices should be very thin.

With thin slices of truffle or its shavings, it is recommended to season pasta, soufflé, rice, veal, omelettes, fish or chicken.

To prepare a dish, in order to give it a special and unique aroma, only 8 g of the product is enough. A black or white truffle is often added to the main ingredient. It is cut on a special grater adapted only for this purpose. In high-end restaurants, a specially trained chef is involved in the cutting process, who does it by hand with his knife.

Mushrooms are appreciated by chefs

The French add truffles to sauces, poultry and seafood dishes, fruits and eggs. In its pure form, rich people can afford it. To emphasize the taste, the product is served with wine or cream sauce.

In pies, the filling becomes tastier and more aromatic if you put a few small pieces of this delicacy. It is used to decorate exotic dishes, with snails, black or red caviar.

Application in cosmetology and medicine

In medicine, white truffles are rarely used: it is too expensive an ingredient for mass production of medicines. For individual orders, they make a tincture for pancreatitis and ointments to improve blood circulation (with varicose veins). In the countries of the East, truffle juice is used for medicinal purposes (but again, very rich people). You can also order truffle juice online, but it must be a trusted source so that the buyer does not fall victim to scammers.

In cosmetology, they are used as one of the components of face creams. Truffle ingredients tighten wrinkles, reduce pigmentation and improve skin tone.

Where do truffles grow in Russia?

How truffles grow In Switzerland, France, Spain, the fruits of Tuber melanosporum vitt are harvested, which prefer to grow on the rhizomes of oak, hornbeam, and beech trees. In Italy, namely in its northern part, the Piedmont truffle is most often found; it grows on the roots of poplar, elm, birch, linden.

Summer black truffles are most often harvested in deciduous, mixed forests growing on calcareous soils of Scandinavia, the Black Sea region, Ukraine, Europe, Central Asia.

Search for truffles

Winter black mushrooms grow mainly in the forests of France, on the Crimean coast, in Switzerland.A particularly valuable white mushroom grows in the countries of Africa (in its northern part), in the region of the Mediterranean coast. White truffles grow near the roots of pine, oak, cedar trees.

Mushroom pickers find black Russian truffles in the forests of the Crimea, the Caucasus, and they grow in deciduous and mixed plantings. According to mushroom pickers, it is easier to find a truffle in deciduous forests, where there are oaks, beech, hornbeam. It is more difficult to find unique mushrooms in conifers. But in Crimea there are not only black truffles (summer), you can also find a winter variety of mushrooms there, which are harvested from the very end of October to the beginning of March.

It is noteworthy that the so-called golden mushrooms (white truffles) grow in the Oryol, Samara, Smolensk, Vladimir, Kuibyshev and Nizhny Novgorod regions. These are the most expensive mushroom delicacies in the world. Such plants are also sometimes found in St. Petersburg and in the forests of the Moscow region.

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What animals are used to find truffles?

It will take a lot of effort to find at least one family of truffles. Experienced mushroom pickers for this have their own tricks, subtleties that they don't tell anyone about. If you are observant, then where elite mushrooms grow, a certain stuntedness of plants is observed in the forest, and the soil is painted in an ashy gray color. It is almost impossible to see a truffle on the surface of the soil, you have to be very lucky to pick a truffle right in the meadow.

Dishes from white truffles It has been said more than once that a truffle has a bright aroma, but it is not easy for a person to hear it under a thick layer of soil, but animals can easily determine where the smell is coming from even at a great distance. Therefore, successful mushroom pickers train pigs and dogs to find truffles in the forest.

Piglets hear the aroma of their favorite treat at a great distance (about 25 meters). When a pig smells a mushroom, it will try not only to dig it out, but also to eat it, the mushroom picker should have time to distract the animal so as not to lose the find. But dogs do not eat these mushrooms, but they must be trained for a long time to find truffles. That is why the mushroom-picking dog costs at least five thousand euros. After all, an intelligent animal will be able to bring a large income to its owner.

Only a few types of trees are best suited for this - oak, hornbeam, beech and birch. Most often, mushrooms are found just under an oak tree, because in France there are special oak groves, in which truffles are often harvested.

Usually mushrooms leave for restaurants or transport services the very day they are found. Less often they are stored in a warehouse or kitchen.

There are only about ten types of truffles in the world, and we will consider the most popular of them.

Interesting facts about the mushroom

In restaurants, truffles are not served with wine under 10 years old.
Chefs of elite restaurants buy truffles at special auctions and add no more than 8 grams of mushroom to dishes.
They go out to look for mushrooms with pigs at night, because in the cool air the animals catch the smell of the truffle faster.
China occupies the highest positions in the world in truffle cultivation, but Chinese products are significantly inferior to European ones.
In 2007, at an auction in Alba, a one and a half kilogram truffle was sold for 330 thousand euros.

The gourmet mushroom does not lose its popularity, despite the exorbitant cost. There is always a connoisseur willing to pay thousands of euros for a truffle. And this alone becomes the motivation for growing truffles for many farmers. Investing heavily in the truffle business can be more cost-effective than buying and training a dog and hiking in the wild forests. In nature, truffles often grow singly or in small groups, and you cannot count on a huge permanent harvest of mushrooms.

Recipes

If you are lucky enough to find a black truffle, then you can be congratulated. Surely, a delicious dinner awaits you.

So, first you need to rinse the truffle well.
Then, soak it in water for several hours.
Dry the truffles and cut them into cubes carefully.
Then, put it in the blender container.
Add a couple of tablespoons of sour cream, parsley, dill and basil there.
Whisk everything on a high speed blender.
Then refrigerate for a couple of hours to thicken the mixture.

Congratulations, you've made a delicious sauce.

Another recipe involves baking in the oven.

You need to chop up your favorite vegetables.
Next, cut up the pork meat.
Place in a baking bag and place in the oven for half an hour at 200 degrees.
Then, untie the baking bag and add the sliced truffle.
Also add chopped tomatoes for juiciness.
Put it in the oven for a couple of hours.

Ice cream with truffle

Cut the truffle into small pieces.
Place in a blender.
Also, put in yogurt and some milk.
Add slices of your favorite fruit, if desired.
Beat everything thoroughly with a blender.
Then, fill the ice cream molds with the resulting mixture, then send it to the refrigerator.

What is the value of the Italian truffle

Real white truffle is the rarest species, and therefore the most expensive, in addition, as noted, it is extremely difficult to get them. In the background is even the famous Perigord black truffle, which is the pride of the French.

White truffles appear in October, and according to tradition, a truffle fair is held in Piedmont at this time. This delicacy can be bought at the fair in any form: fresh, canned, dried. Locals call truffles “diamond mushrooms” and “white gold”, and this is justified, because their cost is simply fabulous - up to 8 thousand dollars per kilogram.

Many believe that truffles are aphrodisiacs, but nutritionists believe that this reputation has purely psychological roots, it is based on the rarity and high cost of these delicacies.

The yield of Italian truffles changes from year to year, it is impossible to predict it. In years of poor yields, the price of these delicacies can rise significantly. In addition, these mushrooms have a very short fruiting season. In Italy, the search for truffles begins in November. The most expensive, naturally, are fresh truffles. Even many restaurants prepare a special menu during the truffle season.

Many people try to grow truffles artificially, and the Chinese manage to do it with black truffles. Although “Chinese black truffle” and “poor quality product” are synonymous, they have their own customers due to their low price. But no one has yet managed to grow white truffles artificially.

Truffles have a short shelf life, they are not stored in pure form, but in sauces or oil. Therefore, connoisseurs of Italian truffles manage to taste this delicacy exclusively during the hunting season, and then they spoil. Restaurateurs buy up these mushrooms literally in a matter of days.

Taste qualities of a real white truffle

The Italian truffle is not an easy edible mushroom; it is a delicacy. In Italian cuisine, these mushrooms are almost always used raw. They are grated on a special grater and added to sauces or used as a seasoning for various dishes, for example, risotto, salads, scrambled eggs, and so on. Also, seafood, veal, grilled meat are cooked with these mushrooms.

The most important thing about truffles is their unique aroma, which becomes even stronger when cooked. This white truffle has light notes of pepper, garlic and honey. Italian truffles taste softer and more refined than black French truffles. They contain more gaseous substances that are released when the pulp is pressed.

In the Middle Ages, these mushrooms were harvested in hundreds of tons per season, then they were simply boiled in wine and served as a snack.Gourmets around the world agree that the taste of fresh white truffles is incomparable to other products.

Similar species

Trinity truffle is outwardly similar to the Italian truffle. It is edible, but not as highly prized as the black and white truffle.

Trinity White Truffle is similar to a curved reddish potato, which reaches 8 centimeters in diameter. Its pulp is light with sinuous lines forming a marble pattern. The skin of young fruiting bodies is smooth, whitish in color, and with age it becomes light brown with yellowness, cracks and tubercles appear.

These mushrooms grow in the forests of Europe and in the west of Russia. White Trinity truffles are found in the Oryol, Samara, Vladimir, Nizhny Novgorod, Smolensk, Kuibyshev, Moscow and Leningrad regions.

Trinity white truffles are consumed fried and boiled. Trinity truffles in sauces are especially piquant. The most delicious mushrooms harvested late. They have a mushroom taste with a taste of deep-fried seeds. It can also taste like a walnut. The aroma is characteristic strong.

Do truffles grow in Russia

Russian truffle is called black summer mushroom - Tuber aestivum (from Latin). They reach a diameter of 10 cm, weight is 400 g. Age is determined by the pulp: its color is whitish, yellow-brown, gray-brown. When ripe, the fruit body changes its consistency: it is dense in young mushrooms, and loose in old ones. The taste of the truffle is a little sweet, the aroma is reminiscent of hazelnuts, algae. There is a delicacy in Europe, the western part of Russia, under the pines, hazel, oak. The fruits can be found from June to October.

Black summer (Tuber aestivum)

This type of fruit is usually called saint-jean, scorzone, edible, burgundy. The ripening period lasts all summer and ends in late autumn. The northern regions of Russia differ in a different time of fruiting - from mid-summer to November. Tuber aestivum is found at a depth of 3-15 cm. Fruits are arranged in groups or singly, form mycorrhiza with beeches, oaks, hornbeams, rarely located near birches and pines. They are often found in southwestern Russia, on the Black Sea coast.

Winter black

The fruit is covered with warts 2-3 cm in size, its diameter reaches 20 cm. Fresh fruit has a reddish-purple hue on the outside, after collection the color darkens and turns black. The flesh of the truffle is white, then turns gray and becomes gray-violet with many white, yellowish veins. The mass of such a fruit can be more than a kilogram. It often grows in Ukrainian, French, Italian lands. Ideal places for plants are birch, oak groves, beech forests. Active fruiting - from November to March. The aroma of the truffle is reminiscent of musk.

White truffle

The price of the product is much higher than the previous ones. It resembles Jerusalem artichoke tubers 5-15 cm in size. Weight can be more than 1.5 kg. If you go for mature truffles, then keep in mind that the surface of the mushroom is felt, in young specimens it is even. When ripe, pits and protrusions appear outside, the color becomes light brown, yellowish. The pulp is white, in old fruits it is grayish with yellowish veins. Mushrooms have a nutty aroma. The older the fruit, the stronger the smell. "Tubers" are found in the Vladimir, Smolensk, Kuibyshev forests from late July to early November.

White truffle description.

The most popular gourmet variety of truffles is considered to be black - they are served in elite restaurants, they have an unusual delicate, meaty taste and an indescribable smell. But, white truffle differs from black, not only in external characteristics, but also in composition and taste. White truffle is also part of the Truffle family.

It is important to note that the appearance of the white truffle is very different from the traditional fruiting bodies, which consist of a cap and a leg. The fruit body of a white truffle is apothecia, which can be completely submerged in the soil or slightly protrude above the surface

In appearance, a truffle is similar to a potato tuber - it has an irregular rounded shape, its surface is smooth.

The young mushroom has a white, smooth surface. In mature mushrooms, it acquires a yellowish tint, becomes wrinkled - covered with winding veins. With age, spots of irregular shape with a reddish tint can appear on the surface of the fungus. The volume of the fruit body is up to 12 cm. White truffle spores are large, spherical, with processes.