Truffles

Truffles are the fruit of a type of fungus and grow underground. They have a relationship with roots of certain trees, mainly oak, hazelnut and some pine trees. Truffles are native to Europe however world-wide, Australia is now the 4th largest producer after Spain, France and Italy. They prefer well-drained soils, warm summers and frosty winters, however their preferred growing conditions are very specific and they can be difficult to grow. Truffles develop over summer and ripen in winter so harvest time at Harold's Cross is usually June, July August.

There are hundreds of species of truffles however not all are edible or tasty!  Black truffle (Tuber Melanosporum) is also called French or Perigord truffle. It's Australia's highly-prized truffle and what we produce at TALLAGANDA TRUFFLES.  

                                   

Pigs were traditionally used to find truffles however they were difficult to train and could often eat them up before the farmer could get to them! In modern times we've switched to using specially-trained dogs, like Clarrie, to sniff them out.