How much does fresh Yunnan black truffle (Tuber) cost per jin, and why is it so expensive?
Why is truffle so expensive? Scarce yield. Truffles are extremely picky about their growing environment. Once there is a slight change in the sunlight, moisture or soil pH of their growing environment, truffles may be unable to continue growing. Things are precious when they are rare, and the truffle's strict requirements for growing conditions lead to its scarce yield, so the price naturally keeps climbing.
Why is truffle so expensive?
Scarce yield
Truffles are extremely picky about their growing environment. Once there is a slight change in the sunlight, moisture or soil pH of their growing environment, truffles may be unable to continue growing. Things are precious when they are rare, and the truffle's strict requirements for growing conditions lead to its scarce yield, so the price naturally keeps climbing.
Cannot be cultivated artificially
So far no method of artificial cultivation has been found, and they can only rely on nature's bounty, so the yield is unstable and the price is naturally high.
Time-consuming and laborious to obtain
The way truffles are obtained is very special. Unlike ordinary mushrooms, which can simply be found and picked directly, truffles are found by trained hunting dogs or sows searching under every tree root, and only then is there a chance of finding them, which is very time-consuming and laborious.
Not easy to preserve
Truffles are very delicate. If you want to preserve them well, you have to wrap them in soil from their place of origin, then before eating gently wipe the soil off the surface of the fungus with fine cotton cloth, and finally brush and wash them under a slow stream of water. Even so, the lifespan of truffles is very short; for example, the lifespan of white truffle is only just over 10 days.
High nutritional value
Truffles contain a variety of amino acids, unsaturated fatty acids, multiple vitamins and multiple trace elements essential to the human body. In addition, truffles also contain large amounts of metabolites such as sphingolipids, cerebrosides, ceramides, truffle acid, sterols and truffle polypeptides, and have extremely high nutritional and health value. They can not only enhance human immunity and resist aging and fatigue, but also have obvious effects in preventing senile dementia and atherosclerosis.
Now everyone knows why truffles are so expensive. Truffles are not only a rare ingredient, but also have very high nutritional value and different effects for different groups of people, making them an excellent ingredient for both food and medicine.
Most people have only heard of truffles, and have never seen or eaten them. Truffles have very high nutritional value and are not cheap, so how much does truffle cost per jin? Why is truffle so expensive?
When is black truffle on the market?
Generally speaking, the mature market period of black truffle is around October each year to March of the following year, and the best season is usually between November and March of the following year. Black truffle is very picky about its growing environment; as long as there is the slightest change in sunlight, moisture or soil pH, it cannot grow normally, and it is one of the delicious delicacies in the world that cannot be artificially cultivated.
How much does truffle cost per jin?
Truffle market prices are very high, in past years generally around 300 to 500 yuan per jin. In 2019, due to drought weather in the production areas, the price was even higher than in previous years. Fortunately, domestic truffle production is still relatively high, so the price is naturally not as high as the hype online suggests. If the quality is good, it may be around one or two thousand per kilogram, and the specific price will differ to some extent depending on the place of origin, variety, market and variety. For example, fresh truffle sells for about 200 to 500 yuan per jin, and dried truffle slices sell for about 800 to 1,200 yuan per jin, so the specific price depends on the local market conditions.
In general, truffles of different varieties and different specifications are sold at different prices in different markets. The above prices are for reference only, and the actual price shall prevail.
How do you judge whether black truffle is mature?
A mature black truffle generally has obvious marbled patterns and a very strong aroma; an immature black truffle has patterns in which white is almost invisible, and when smelled it has only a faint fragrance. If the black truffle is not fully mature, the surface will be very soft and smooth, and the cross-section will be milky white or gray; after maturity, the surface is hard and has dense raised bumps, and the white marbled patterns on the cross-section are relatively obvious. High-quality black truffle is full of aroma and gives a unique olfactory experience. According to testing and analysis by biologists at home and abroad, mature black truffle contains more than a dozen kinds of aromatic natural compounds.
