What are truffles, one of the world's three great delicacies, and what is the price per jin and their places of origin?
Truffles are rich in protein, amino acids and other nutrients, and their yield is scarce, so together with foie gras and caviar, they are hailed as the king of the world's three great delicacies. So what exactly are truffles? How much do they cost per jin? Where do they grow?
1. What are truffles?
1. Introduction to truffles
Truffle is the collective name for several edible species of the phylum Ascomycota. Because its shape is lump-like, it is also called tuber, and like mushrooms and lingzhi it is a fungus. Several of them belong to the genus Tuber (European truffles), with about 10 different varieties. The truffle fruiting body is lump-shaped, white and evenly textured inside when young, and turns deep black when mature, with lighter-colored marble-like veins.
2. Truffle places of origin
Truffles are mainly produced in Italy, Croatia, Piedmont, Provence in France, Sarlat, the Tibetan areas of southwestern China, Panzhihua in Sichuan, the Yi areas of Yongren County in Yunnan, and the Jinsha River basin also produces them.
3. Truffle varieties
Truffles have a special aroma that can bring out the distinctive aromas of many ingredients. Among the more famous truffle varieties are the Italian white truffle, the French black winter truffle and the black summer truffle. The Italian white truffle is produced from October to December each year and is the most precious of the truffles, known as “white gold”; it is expensive and usually eaten raw, sliced thinly and eaten with eggs, macaroni or salad. The French black winter truffle, also called the Perigord truffle, is produced from December to March of the following year and is known as the “black diamond”. The black summer truffle is produced from May to September each year; what sets it apart from most other truffles is that its growing and harvesting season is in summer or autumn, its flavor is milder than other truffles, and it is more suitable for eating raw or lightly heated.
2. Where do truffles grow?
Truffles mostly grow attached by filaments to the roots of broadleaf trees, generally growing under pine, oak and holm oak trees, scattered within a 120-150 cm radius around the base of the tree, with the lump-shaped main body hidden 5-40 cm underground. Truffles are mycorrhizal fungi, so they are usually easily found in positions closely connected with tree roots.
3. How much do truffles cost per jin?
Yunnan truffles from producing areas such as Kunming, Dali, Qujing, Nujiang and Baoshan are priced at 300-500 yuan/kg, while French wild truffles sell for 5000—7000 RMB.
4. The difference between truffles and matsutake
Many people cannot tell matsutake and truffles apart. The two indeed have many similarities and also quite a few differences. See the table below for the specific differences:
| Truffle | Matsutake | |
| Form | The truffle fruiting body is lump-shaped, white and evenly textured inside when young, and turns deep black when mature, with lighter-colored marble-like veins | Fresh matsutake is umbrella-shaped with bright color, a brown cap and a white stalk, both covered with fibrous hairy scales |
| Growing environment | Can only grow in unpolluted primeval forest; the spores form a symbiotic relationship with pine roots, and the symbiotic tree species must be over 50 years old | Can only live symbiotically with other plants, and grows 5-40 cm beneath the soil |
| Harvesting | The collection period is between July and October in summer; finding and picking them is extremely difficult, and collecting matsutake requires not only physical strength but also good luck | The collection period is from October to December, using trained dogs and sows in heat to find them |
| Aroma | Carries a fresh pine-wood fragrance | Different truffles have slightly different odors, and different people describe the taste of truffles very differently |
| Place of origin | ⟦NL>The place of origin is mainly within China | Mainly produced in France and Italy; the main producing area in China is in the Jinsha River basin. |
5. The effects and benefits of truffles
Scientific research data show that black truffles are rich in protein, 18 kinds of amino acids (including the 8 essential amino acids that the human body cannot synthesize), unsaturated fatty acids, multiple vitamins, essential trace elements such as zinc, manganese, iron, calcium, phosphorus and selenium, as well as large amounts of metabolites such as sphingolipids, cerebrosides, ceramides, triterpenes, androsterone, adenosine, truffle acid, sterols, truffle polysaccharides and truffle polypeptides, and have extremely high nutritional and health value.
1. Regular consumption of truffles by the elderly helps improve Alzheimer's disease and cardiovascular disease, and has the benefits of strengthening immunity, resisting fatigue and resisting aging.
2. Regular consumption of truffles by men can improve sleep quality, improve states such as insufficient energy, fatigue and weakness, sore waist and back, and insomnia with many dreams, and also has a supporting effect on symptoms such as frequent nocturia and frequent and urgent urination.
3. Regular consumption of truffles by women has the benefits of improving irregular menstruation and beautifying the skin; it can improve phenomena common in adult women such as dark or black menstrual blood, blood stasis clots in menstruation and menstrual disorder, and can also keep the skin elastic and radiant and has an improving and relieving effect on some menopausal women.
4. Children eating truffles can supplement the essential trace elements and protein the human body needs.
6. How are truffles eaten?
There are many ways to eat truffles. Italian white truffles are generally eaten raw or sliced thinly and eaten with eggs, macaroni or salad; French black winter truffles are suitable for eating raw or lightly heated; truffles from China are generally eaten in stewed soup.
Conclusion: That is all for the introduction to truffles. The output of truffles at home and abroad is not very large, so the price is still rather expensive. If conditions allow, you can still eat truffles regularly to supplement nutrition.