It’s been some time since the lovely Linda presented me with a small chest of tempting truffle products: Truffles and Salt, Acacia Honey and Truffles, and Carpaccio of Truffles. It’s such a pleasure when company comes to add these delicacies to the appetizer table for special friends to savor. Given the price and scarcity of truffles, these little wonders are always welcomed by our guests.
Having said that, I have to rejoice at the news that black truffles may soon become more available and perhaps more reasonable in price, thanks to information contained in a recent BBC news release about the rise of Australia as a truffle producer.
Truffle growing areas have now been established in Tasmania, South Australia, Victoria, the Australian Capital Territory, Queensland and New South Wales, with Western Australia producing the lion’s share of Australia’s perigord truffles (Tuber melanosporum).
The addition of Australia as a truffle grower is certainly exciting for us truffle aficionados because of the sheer volume that may soon enter the marketplace. However, even more significant is that Australian truffles will be available at a time when this subterranean fungi is not typically available, from May until mid-August. The bottom line is that Australia is harvesting truffles in the southern hemisphere in the spring and summer when there are none essentially being harvested in the northern hemisphere! What a treat for the consumer and connoisseur!
Alex Wilson, head of sales at The Truffle & Wine Co - Australia's first commercial truffle farm or truffière, and the single largest producer of black truffles in the southern hemisphere - boosted to BBC News that "We export to 31 countries, and don't have the supply by even half to match the demand from overseas … We export around 85% of our truffles and I pre-sell the whole crop."
More information on this subject can be garnered at the website for the Australian Truffle Growers Association.