12046 The Truffle Shuffle

Yesterday I dropped my nephew off at the airport in Pisa after a few days spent with us in the glorious rain. As we were having our last cappuccino together in the bar I got chatting to a really nice chap who it turns out was Giancarlo Picchiarelli, chairman of Italy’s association of truffle diggers “Citta del Tartuffo”

He was waiting for some big-wigs to fly in from an American research institute so they could discuss a new idea for tackling the problem over falling truffle harvests. Giancarlo told me that “crops” which used to be up to 10 tonnes for white truffles are down more than 50%.

The theory is that the falling numbers of truffles is not so much to do with the effects of climate change, but more to do with changing sensitivities in the noses of the dogs which are trained to sniff them out. The Americans believe (and so their studies have proven apparently) that geese are the answer. Yes geese. Sadly the American boffins came through arrivals before I could find out more, but when I got home I googled and found out that last year a 1.5kg white truffle sold at auction for $330,000.00, so I’m off to the woods with goosey goosey.
Anyone else heard about this[FONT=Verdana]?[/FONT]

Category
Circolo di Conversazione

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Wed, 04/01/2009 - 03:47

So its Goosey Goosey Ghianda off to the woods then?:bigergrin:
A

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Wed, 04/01/2009 - 04:37

I would not be surprised if a significant number of truffles are poached systematically and this is the reason for the decline in the official figures. At the current price they may be quite tempting for many. This type of theft is happening everywhere with many of the "gourmet" products and it is difficult to control.
I know that the French use trained pigs to find truffles, but I have not heard of the geese before. I will do some research. You always learn something new.

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Wed, 04/01/2009 - 05:16

Great news for lovers of goose fat Ghianda :bigergrin:

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Wed, 04/01/2009 - 06:31

The only references I could find after googling the French sites for truggles and geese were countless recipes for truffled foie gras and geese.
And I do hope we are not going to have another goose fat thread........

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Wed, 04/01/2009 - 06:35

By the way, today is April Fool's Day. Is this a joke, Ghianda?

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Wed, 04/01/2009 - 08:16

[quote=Ghianda;115010]Yesterday I dropped my nephew off at the airport in Pisa [B][U]FACT[/U][/B] after a few days spent with us in the glorious rain. [B][U]FACT[/U][/B] As we were having our last cappuccino together in the bar I got chatting to a really nice chap [B][U]NOT TRUE[/U][/B] who it turns out was Giancarlo Picchiarelli, chairman of Italy’s association of truffle diggers “Citta del Tartuffo” [B][U]FACT[/U][/B]

He was waiting for some big-wigs to fly in from an American research institute so they could discuss a new idea for tackling the problem over falling truffle harvests. [B][U]NOT TRUE[/U][/B] Giancarlo told me [B][U]NOT TRUE[/U][/B] that “crops” which used to be up to 10 tonnes for white truffles are down more than 50%. [B][U]FACT[/U][/B]

The theory is that the falling numbers of truffles is not so much to do with the effects of climate change, but more to do with changing sensitivities in the noses of the dogs which are trained to sniff them out. [B][U]BOLLIX[/U][/B] The Americans believe (and so their studies have proven apparently) that geese are the answer. [B][U]NO COMMENT[/U][/B] Yes geese. Sadly the American boffins came through arrivals before I could find out more, but when I got home I googled and found out that last year a 1.5kg white truffle sold at auction for $330,000.00, [B][U]FACT [/U][/B]so I’m off to the woods with goosey goosey.
Anyone else heard about this[FONT=Verdana]?[/FONT][/quote]

Source of the true bits [URL="http://www.reuters.com/article/lifestyleMolt/idUSTRE4AI49B20081119"]Climate, crisis mean trouble for truffles in Italy | Lifestyle | Reuters[/URL]

Just a bit of fun and no geese were harmed in the making of this post - though I suspect I shall need to be careful where I stick my little acorny neck in the near future lest it gets wrung. :bigergrin: