Truffle (Tuber) is a representative of marsupials, since spores ripen in special unicellular bags - Aska. This is a very rare and expensive representative of the mushroom kingdom.
Truffle summer (black)
Mushroom Features
Truffles are unusual, primarily because fruiting bodies are formed not on the ground, but inside it. Rounded or tuberous mushrooms have a fleshy and cartilaginous consistency. Their feature is a marble pattern - the alternation of light and dark stains in the section. Light veins are called internal veins, and dark veins are called external. Bags with spores form on the internal veins, and are also distributed by nests in the fetal body. Mushrooms grow to different sizes. They can be the size of a walnut or a potato tuber.
Young mushrooms have a smooth whitish skin, which turns yellow over time and becomes light brown. The surface is covered with various folds, cracks and hard “warts”. The yellow-whitish dry pulp with numerous brownish streaks-convolutions turns brown when heated, and acquires a chocolate shade.
Truffle is an edible mushroom of the first category with the best consumer and culinary qualities. They are most often used fresh for making fragrant soups, sauces and gravy.
Nutritional value
Calorie content 100 g of the product - 24 kcal.
The chemical composition of the truffle:
- proteins - 3 g;
- carbohydrates - 2 g;
- fats - 0.5 g;
- dietary fiber - 1 g;
- water - 90 g.
And also it contains vitamins PP, C and B2, a small amount of B1, but there are practically no macro- and microelements in the composition.
Where do truffles grow and how to collect them?
Truffle in the forest is not easy to find, it hides well underground. Summer mushrooms are harvested in summer and autumn, the peak falls on August - September. They go for winter species in February and look for them until March.
The mushroom grows in deciduous, mixed European forests, less often in conifers, as well as on the African continent (in its northern part), Asia and America. He needs moderately moist clay-calcareous soils with an underdeveloped grassy cover, on which he forms mycorrhiza with the roots of different tree species. Truffles usually grow in small groups of 7 each.
Experienced "hunters" for truffles notice hidden mushrooms by insignificant external signs - this is elevated soil and dried grass. In France, it is customary to search for them with the help of truffle flies that lay larvae in the ground near this fungus. The flight of these insects, their large cluster indicates the close location of truffles.
But not all of them are “trackers,” therefore, to search for delicacies, from ancient times they used trained animals that are able to smell the peculiar smell of truffles for 20 m. Mushrooms are best found by sows, however, they get tired very quickly and the “quiet” hunt ends before they can to start. In Italy, dogs are used for searches, poods and curs became the best search engines. Interestingly, until 1869, trained bears were looking for truffles near Moscow.
Truffle Varieties
There are a huge variety of mushroom varieties, here are the most common:
- Italian Truffle (Tuber magnatum), real or "Piedmontese" - its area of Piedmont (region of Italy). It grows near birches, lindens, elms. This is the most expensive mushroom in the world. It is appreciated for its pleasant taste and cheese-garlic flavor.
- French black (Tuber melanosporum), "perigorsk" found in groves where I grow hornbeams, beeches and oaks. It is considered second in value, second only to Italian. The red-brown or brown-black truffle is angularly rounded in shape, covered with large warts and small indentations. The pulp is colored reddish, later becoming purple. Its distinguishing feature is the many white and black veins with a red border on the cut of the mushroom. The mushroom has a bitter taste with a strong aroma.
- Black burgundy truffle (Tuber uncinatum) - a variety of French black, with a nutty aroma and chocolate flavor, grows throughout Europe.
- Summer truffle (Tuber aestivum), “black Russian” is recognized by its nutty taste and sweetish aroma of algae. It can be found on the Black Sea coast of the Caucasus, in the deciduous forests of the Scandinavian countries, Central Europe, Ukraine, and in some areas of Central Asia. It matures in the summer months.
- Winter truffle (Tuber brumale) ripens in November - February. Hiding in the ground, it is not damaged by frost, but if somehow the mushroom is on the surface, it freezes and loses all its taste. This happens even with the most minor frosts. It grows in Switzerland, Italy and France, in the mountains of Crimea. The young mushroom has a reddish-purple color, the mature mushroom becomes almost black and is overgrown with many small warts. The ash gray flesh has white streaks and a musky aroma.
- African Truffle (Terfezia leonis) grows exclusively in North Africa and in parts of the Middle East. Whitish-yellow mushrooms have a rounded shape. The pulp is light, powdery, with white veins and numerous dark spots. When ripe, it becomes wet.
Italian Truffle Mushroom
Mushroom Truffle French Black
Black burgundy truffle mushroom
Summer truffle mushroom
Mushroom truffle winter
African Truffle
Mushroom benefits
Due to its vitamin content, truffle boosts immunity and fights intestinal disorders. It has a beneficial effect on the nervous system, is an antioxidant and an aphrodisiac, that is, enhances male potency.
Truffle Harm
The fungus does not harm human health. There can be only one contraindication - this is intolerance to the product. And also pay attention to where it is assembled. Any mushroom, like a sponge, absorbs from the environment not only useful, but also toxic substances, and accumulate toxins in itself.
Growing at home
Difficulties with the search for truffles forced experts to raise the issue of their artificial cultivation. For several centuries, all attempts were unsuccessful, but at the beginning of the XIX century it was cultivated. However, only “black” species grow in an unnatural environment; cultivation “white” truffles are not served.
The main condition is a favorable climate. It should be moderate, warm, without sudden changes in temperature. Regions with hot summers and frosty winters are not suitable for this purpose. It is better to buy seed material in a specialized store, but they are not cheap. Usually, spores are planted on the roots of seedlings of hazel or oak.
You can try to grow mycorrhiza on your own. Beech or oak sawdust is infected with mycelium and placed in a warm, sterile place until the formation of mycorrhiza, but this will happen no earlier than a year.
They select a place for planting trees - sheltered from the wind, direct sunlight, other shrubs, trees, flowers should not grow on its territory. Especially does not tolerate truffle next to spruce, chestnuts and poplar. The place is protected from animal invasion. Truffle loves alkaline soil, if it is acidic, then they add lime. And also it should be rich in humus, calcium and saturated with air.
Planting seedlings is carried out in the spring. The soil is not previously fertilized so that the mycelium does not die. It is cleaned of weed grass, stones and dug holes 75 cm deep, watered. Then the seedlings are planted, they are covered with soil and watered again. At a distance of 40 cm from each seedling, the ground is mulched with last year's oak leaves. The temperature should be in the region of +20 ° C ... + 22 ° C.
It is recommended to fertilize with potash and nitrogen fertilizers. They are not added to the mushroom landing site, but to the ground near the roots of the tree where they grow. For the winter, they must be mulched to save them from frost. In the spring they are fed with mineral fertilizers rich in boron, copper, zinc, calcium and iron.
Harvest dates depend on the variety of planted mushroom. They hide at a depth of 20 cm from the surface. If the mushrooms rot or lose their nutritional value, then perhaps they are located close to the surface. In this case, it is recommended to sprinkle the surface with clean, dry sand. Truffles are dug up with a small shovel. Mushrooms grow not only near the roots of trees, but also are located between them.
Growing truffles in a greenhouse or basement is an expensive pleasure. To create optimal conditions, a system of air humidification, heating, ventilation is installed, special soil and means for additional disinfection are purchased. These costs will pay off if truffle cultivation becomes your business.
Truffle storage
Their shelf life is small. If you need to save them until a special case, then the mushrooms are removed in an airtight container. They are cleaned of the earth and sprinkled with rice. Put the container in the refrigerator. Thus, they can be stored for 7 days. Or they are poured with olive oil.
In addition to cooking, truffles are used in cosmetology. Italian experts on its basis prepare various creams and masks. Therefore, growing truffles is considered very profitable, albeit very difficult.
Truffle is a rare and delicious type of mushroom. But due to its high cost, not everyone can enjoy its unique taste. But if you learn to find or grow it correctly, then such a person will have a good income and gastronomic pleasure.