Truffle Cultivation

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Cultivation Today

Truffles are among the world’s pre-eminent culinary delicacies. Revered for millennia only their price has kept pace with their fame. Retail prices in the U.S. for Tuber melanosporum, the French black truffle or Perigord truffle, and Tuber magnatum, the Italian White truffle, have reached between $1000 and $3000 per pound. ($455 to $1360 per kilo) Most truffles are harvested in the wild and since the wild supply is diminishing and prices continue to climb they are being successfully cultivated on farms or trufferies. Truffles are a form of mushroom that develops underground in a symbiotic association with the roots of trees. The breakthrough that made their cultivation possible was development from the technology to inoculate host trees with the fungus under controlled conditions. The use of inoculated trees to cultivate Tuber Borchii, Tuber melanosporum and other truffles has proven successful over the past 20 years in Europe and many farms, including two in the United States are now producing the Itlalian Whitish and French black truffles in other parts of the world. To cultivate truffles, inoculated trees are planted in orchards much like those for fruits and nuts, except that the crop appears below ground and is usually harvested with the help of trained dogs that can smell the truffles through a layer of earth. Truffles begin to appear in commercial quantities five to seven years after the inoculated seedlings are planted and production can continue for decades. The onset and duration of production depends to some extent on the species of host tree. Yields vary dramatically: some farms produce as much as 240 kilos per hectare each year while others produce little. Typical yields in Europe range between 50 and 150 kilos per hectare each year, but as methods improve many more farms are achieving yields in excess of 200 kilos per hectare.

Prices

See below the local and export price of fresh truffles per kilogram in native currency for most years;

• Summer Black Truffle (Tuber aestivum) – €250
• Scorzone Black Truffle (Tuber aestivum var uncinatum) – €350 [French: Burgundy] €380 [Italian: Fragno]
• Autumn Black Truffle (Tuber mesentericum) – €280 [French: Lorraine] €250 [Italian: Bagnoli]
• Durone White Truffle (Tuber excavatum) -- no market value or price
• Winter White Truffle (Tubermagnatum) – €4000 [Italian: Piedmont] up to €100,000 at auction
• Cinnamon Truffle (Tuber rufum) – no market price, low value
• Shiny Truffle (Tuber nitidum) – no market price, low value
• Pecan Truffle (Tuber lyonii) – US$220/€165 local sale only, not exported
• Muscat Black Truffle (Tuberbrumale) – €300
• Musky Black Truffle (Tuber brumale var moschatum) – €250
• Winter Black Truffle (Tuber melanosporum) – €1200 [French: Perigord] €1000 [Italian: Norcia]
• Chinese Black Truffle (Tuber indicum) – CN¥700=€84
• Himalayan Black Truffle (Tuber himalayense) – CN¥800=€96 smooth black truffle (Tuber macrosporum) – €450
• Oregon-Spring White Truffle (Tuber gibbosum) – US$240/€180 local sale only, not exported
• Oregon-autumn white truffle (Tuber oregonense) – US$240/€180 local sale only, not exported
• Downy White Truffle (Tuber puberulum) – no market price, low value
• Bianchetto White Truffle (Tuber albidum) – €400
• Marzuolo White Truffle (Tuber borchii) – €350
• Cercuse White Truffle (Tuber sphaerospermum) – MAD780=€70 export in euros
• Marocaine White Truffle (Tuber oligospermum) – MAD560=€50 export in euros
• Speckled White Truffle (Tuber maculatum) – no market price, low value

The Winter White, available only from Italy and in small quantities, Istria (peninsula north-east of Italy), is the most expensive edible fungus in the world and commands the highest price among all truffles.

The second most valuable truffle is the Winter Black or Perigord truffle (Tuber melanosporum ), mainly from France and Spain and usually about a quarter the price of the winter white and has its own special market in some areas of Italy and Spain.

The Italian Borchii or Bianchetto truffle has the third highest commercial value after the Winter White and Winter Black. All of these top truffles are consistently sought after for their exceptional gastronomic qualities and sustain a stable market.

The Bianchetto whitish and Marzuolo White, mainly from central Italy, are popular as lesser versions of the winter white and command middling prices. They are used in situations where the winter white is either unnecessary or unaffordable.

Similarly priced with and in good market demand during the two seasons to the central Italian whites, is the Summer Black, available in fairly large quantities and the slightly less abundant Muscat Black. The Autumn Black and Musky Black, with their stronger but less exquisite flavour, are less favoured among truffles generally and consequently priced lower than the related Summer and Muscat blacks. The Autumn Black and Musky Black are bought mainly by those skilled in their preparation.

American truffles are only sold locally and not usually exported. The two western Oregon White truffles are moderately priced, and the Eastern Pecan truffle is only slightly cheaper. The Asian truffles: Chinese Black and Himalayan Black and North African truffles: Ceruse White and Marocaine White are imported into Europe in very large quantities at low prices, and can be bought in bulk very cheaply.

Several other minor truffles have some culinary value but no market value; they are usually collected by amateurs and are not sold commercially. These include the Downy White, Speckled White, Cinnamon truffle, Shiny truffle and Durone white. They may be obtained on holiday visits to truffle territory during organised truffle hunting excursions.

The Oriental Market

Imports of European truffles, especially the three premium species, into China and Japan are continuing to get bigger due to the increased popularity of domestic consumption. This consumption is most visible in prestige restaurants and hotels. The Mikuni Hotel in Tokyo imports fresh truffles (both white and black) from Europe for preparing gourmet dishes in their restaurant.

We only buy our tree seedlings (oaks, hazelnuts and other species) inoculated with Tuber borchii and other truffle species from the industry leader in the field. These seedlings are checked individually to confirm the presence of the fungus and are provided with a quality guarantee that the trees are viable, abundantly colonized by the truffle ectomycorrhizae and completely free of competing truffle species. We are also engaged in an active research programs testing new hosts, more truffle species and various cultivation practices for farming truffles in our soils and climate.