We spent a couple of hours with a French truffle farmer, Serge and his Italian dog, Amy. They took us to work with them in the fields, where there are trees interspersed with lavender and other herbs de Provence. The tree that is the source of much of the production is a type of oak, similar to the Coastal Live Oak found in California. For this magic mushroom to grow you need a couple of other factors: weather and ph soil between 6.5-8.0. To start the seedling, acorns from infected trees are sprouted in a mixture of ground-up mushrooms and soil with the hope that the mycelium will infect the seedling and be carried by the tree as it matures. The seedlings are planted in rows for the future generation to harvest. The older trees are removed as they become less productive. Just as Serge has replaced his father, grandfather, and grandfather’s grandfather, he will eventually be replaced by his son.

 

The dogs are trained from birth by feeding the mushrooms to the puppies until they acquire a taste for these little black gems.  Pretty difficult to eat dog food after this regimen.  Amy leads us and the farmer to the grove and immediately starts digging in the soft soil around the trees. She’s a rascal dog that pays little attention to her master, eating a truffle or two when he’s not looking. He scolds her in French, a language that she’s obviously not familiar with. Then he gives her a dog biscuit as a reward for not eating the entire crop. That’s the problem with dogs that only speak Italian. The reason that they use mostly dogs these days is that hogs are so hard to control, they eat up more of the profits than Amy does.

This fungus sells for €1000’s per kilo at the wholesale level. Some of the selling takes place in organized markets. Picture town squares full of black Mercedes, well dressed traders, expensive lunches, small sheets of paper with offers to buy in cash, all difficult to track and tax. Once the days end, the town square is swept, the black cars, black diamonds, and chits are gone. The only thing left is a lingering smell of the truffle. And every year is a bad year in the mushroom business according to the taxing authorities.