Truffles

Truffles, but not the chocolate type!

France is famous for truffles. You might be thinking of chocolate covered, melt in your mouth ganache, but in the Dordogne, while they do have lovely chocolate truffles, natural truffles, a type of mushroom that makes your food taste like paradise, are found in the ground under trees by dogs specially trained to sniff them out..

We decided to find out what all the fuss was about and set out to visit Xavier and Rigo (his truffle hound) in a rural hamlet North of Bergerac. We had Bonnie, our black lab, with us and while we introduced ourselves to Xavier, the dogs hit it off straight away.

Bonnie was on Rigo’s turf and she didn’t know much about truffling. She had a lot to learn!!

Two dogs hunting truffles in the Dordogne

Truffle Hunting

Xavier walked us through the woods to the clearing where the truffles are found. He is incredibly knowledgeable about truffles and is enthusiastic and engaging.

Why truffles grow is a combination of science and a bit of a lottery. Xavier’s father planted the first tree in the clearing many years ago. Trees can produce truffles at their roots year after year or not at all…. The only clue to whether they might produce truffles seemed to be the ‘burn,’ a burnt looking patch of ground which appears beneath the tree. (I’m sure that’s a simplification!)

Then it’s over to Rigo, a truffle hound who loves the smell of truffles and is trained to sniff them out from a distance. There is no missing his excitement when he finds the scent. The problem is Rigo also loves the taste of truffles and Xavier has to be quick to rescue the truffle from beneath the ground before Rigo enjoys an expensive snack!

A likely tree to find truffles under

Truffle Tasting

The best was still to come …the tasting. We were served a butter ball rolled in fresh truffle with delicious French bread and hot potatoes. Accompanied by a glass of red wine it became clear what all the fuss was about. Truffles are often used to flavour oil or pasta sauces, but nothing can beat the taste of a fresh truffle.

If you are interested in booking your own truffle experience, contact Xavier on xaviermathiaud@materrepremiere.fr or +33 7 60 52 41 25.

Peter and the Truffle-hound, Rigo

Celebrating the Truffle

The truffle season runs from November through to February. Fresh truffles are sold at local markets and the area even hosts a truffle festival.

Usually held on the second weekend in January, the beautiful town of Sarlat is the home of the truffle festival. Tastings, small bites, street cookery demonstrations and classes, truffle dogs in action (and truffle pigs too!) wine tasting, music – what’s not to like!

If you are a foodie, you won’t want to miss this uniquely French occasion!

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