They are one of the least promising-looking delicacies in the world, sniffed out by pigs in rural corners of Europe, sold for thousands of dollars and prized above almost every other foodstuff by gourmands. They are also -- in a more humble, native form -- lurking in record numbers in British woodlands.
The UK appears to be experiencing a bumper harvest of the native summer, or Burgundy, truffle at a time when other crops in the south have been wilting through a heatwave and drought.
"We seem to have an apparent abundance," said Nigel Hadden-Paton, a truffle expert who had a sensationally successful day last week searching for culinary gold in a wood at a secret location.
He suggested that rich pickings are to be had in soils scattered between Dorset in southwest England and Darlington in the northeast.
"It's extraordinary," he said. "It may be something to do with global warming but I just don't know. It may be a flush lasting two or three weeks and that will be it."
Hadden-Paton runs Truffle UK, a company which cultivates truffles and imports them from France, Italy and Croatia.
"The percentage of the population of Britain that eats truffles is minuscule and I'm trying to reverse that trend because truffles are here under our feet in our copses and woods," he said.
The British fungus sells for ?130 (US$246) a kilo, compared with last season's cost of an Italian tuber magnatum (?2,000 a kilo) or Perigord tuber melanosporum (up to ?1,000 a kilo).
"Because it is less favored, the price of the truffle found in Britain is lower," Hadden-Paton said. "If you were to put the three truffles side by side and had risottos made, they would all taste different.
"The summer truffle found in Britain is a much more ... delicate flavor but I would not say it is better or worse. We need to educate people's palates and get them used to our indigenous truffle," he said.
The British truffle is also easier to find: continental varieties lurk several centimeters underground as they search for water, but the native truffle often breaks through the surface, even if it can be mistaken at first sight for dog excrement.
Taiwanese actress Barbie Hsu (徐熙媛) has died of pneumonia at the age of 48 while on a trip to Japan, where she contracted influenza during the Lunar New Year holiday, her sister confirmed today through an agent. "Our whole family came to Japan for a trip, and my dearest and most kindhearted sister Barbie Hsu died of influenza-induced pneumonia and unfortunately left us," Hsu's sister and talk show hostess Dee Hsu (徐熙娣) said. "I was grateful to be her sister in this life and that we got to care for and spend time with each other. I will always be grateful to
REMINDER: Of the 6.78 million doses of flu vaccine Taiwan purchased for this flu season, about 200,000 are still available, an official said, following Big S’ death As news broke of the death of Taiwanese actress and singer Barbie Hsu (徐熙媛), also known as Big S (大S), from severe flu complications, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and doctors yesterday urged people at high risk to get vaccinated and be alert to signs of severe illness. Hsu’s family yesterday confirmed that the actress died on a family holiday in Japan due to pneumonia during the Lunar New Year holiday. CDC Deputy Director-General Tseng Shu-hui (曾淑慧) told an impromptu news conference that hospital visits for flu-like illnesses from Jan. 19 to Jan. 25 reached 162,352 — the highest
COMBINING FORCES: The 66th Marine Brigade would support the 202nd Military Police Command in its defense of Taipei against ‘decapitation strikes,’ a source said The Marine Corps has deployed more than 100 soldiers and officers of the 66th Marine Brigade to Taipei International Airport (Songshan airport) as part of an effort to bolster defenses around the capital, a source with knowledge of the matter said yesterday. Two weeks ago, a military source said that the Ministry of National Defense ordered the Marine Corps to increase soldier deployments in the Taipei area. The 66th Marine Brigade has been tasked with protecting key areas in Taipei, with the 202nd Military Police Command also continuing to defend the capital. That came after a 2017 decision by the ministry to station
PETITIONS: A Democratic Progressive Party official quoted President William Lai as saying that civil society groups are organizing the recall drives at the grassroots level Some civil society groups yesterday announced that they have collected enough signatures to pass the first-stage threshold to initiate a recall vote against Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislators in 18 constituencies nationwide, saying that they would submit the signatures to the Central Election Commission (CEC) today. They also said that they expected to pass the threshold in eight more constituencies in the coming days, meaning the number of KMT legislators facing a recall vote could reach 26. The groups set up stations to collect signatures at local marketplaces and busy commercial districts. The legislators their petition drives target include Fu
RSS