There are many kinds of truffles, but from a culinary perspective there are two main types; the black Périgord (tuber melanosporum), named after the Périgord region in France, and the white Tartufo Bianco d’Alba (tuber magnatum), named after the town of Alba in the Piedmont region of northern Italy. The white truffle is considered by gourmets to be the best, for its flavour and aroma, but the black is highly favoured as well. Both types are pictured below (from a restaurant I ate at in Palermo).
We could also add a third type, the black summer or Burgundy truffle (tuber aestivum) which is found across Europe. Typically they are used as a substitute for black truffles when they aren’t available in the summer.
In Tasmania, attempts have been made to farm all three but only black and summer truffles have been successfully imported and grown, while attempts to grow white truffles commercially have always failed.
I visited the The Truffle Farm www.thetrufflefarmtasmania.com.au, who were the first to successfully grow truffles in Australia, with black truffles in 1999 and summer truffles in 2009.
They are a slick operation with a fifty hectare plantation containing groves of specially imported English Oak trees (quercus robur, deciduous) and Holm Oak trees (quercus ilex, evergreen) which are highly suitable for producing black truffles.
The farm is located in the foothills of the Great Western Tiers which get snow during the winter harvest period from June to mid September, thereby producing ideal growing conditions for black truffles.
They also have a grove of Lomardy poplars which were imported in 2003 and innoculated with white truffle spores, but with no success as yet. The reason might be due to the alkalinity of the soil not being quite right, or perhaps the climate being too cold.
I really wanted to take one of their tours where you get to dig up your own truffles with the help of a truffle dog, but sadly the stars did not align. Instead I had to settle for getting a bottle of truffle oil and truffle balsamic vinegar from their gift shop as I couldn’t take fresh truffles back to the UK. They were both $55 (just under £30) for a 90ml bottle.
I also visited Truffles of Tasmania www.trufflesoftasmania.com.au, another truffière just five minutes up the road.
They also have fifty hectares of English and Spanish Oak Trees, ranging between 15 and 22 years old. Again they have tours but noone answered the phone when I called but it wasn’t the ideal time of year for harvesting anyway.
I got some more Truffle Oil (for comparison) from their shop for the much cheaper price of $25 for 100ml (£13, but without a fancy box) and some Pepperberry Truffle Salt (63g for $35). Pepperberry is a local culinary spice with a flavour akin to Sichuan pepper and cloves that has traditionally been used in Aboriginal cuisine.
You can find both these truffle businesses, and more besides, on my Google map.
Due to it being January, I only got to eat truffles once and that was at The Source at MONA mona.net.au/eat-drink/the-source-restaurant in Hobart. I definitely need to try recreate this Truffle Cheese Toastie with brioche, comte, and mushrooms when I get home. These were Tasmanian summer truffles (black were out of season) which pair well with porcini mushrooms as they have similar notes.
Now for the oysters!