The Hidden Life of Truffles

Not just for gourmands, truffles play essential roles in the health of ecosystems. Efforts are underway to conserve threatened species that depend on these delicious fungi

By and THIS IS A PREVIEW.to access the full article.Already purchased this issue?

It's a cool November day near Bologna, Italy. We are strolling through the woods with truffle hunter Mirko Illice and his little dog, Clinto. Clinto runs back and forth among the oak trees sniffing the ground, pausing, and then running again. Suddenly, he stops and digs furiously with both paws. “Ah, he's found an Italian white truffle,” Mirko explains. “He uses both paws only when he finds one of those.” Mirko gently pulls the excited dog from the spot and pushes through the soil with his fingers. He extracts a yellowish brown lump the size of a golf ball and sniffs it. “, Clinto,” Mirko intones. Though not the finest example of the species, —which grows only in northern Italy, Serbia and Croatia—Clinto's find will fetch a nice price of about $100 at the Saturday market.

Throughout history, truffles have appeared on the menu and in folklore. The Pharaoh Khufu served them at his royal table. Bedouins, Kalahari Bushmen and Australian Aborigines have hunted them for countless generations in deserts. The Romans savored them and thought they were produced by thunder. Epicures today who prize truffles' earthy aroma and flavors are willing to pay steep prices at the market—the Italian white species has fetched more than $3,000 per kilogram.

THIS IS A PREVIEW.to access the full article.Already purchased this issue? Buy Digital Issue$9.99 You May Also Like

The Birth of the Great GMO Debate

Intoxicating: The Science of Alcohol

Scientific American Archive Single Issue

Eating to Live