Sniffing out a good truffle

One man and his three truffle dogs "somewhere on the Valensole"

I am now something of a truffle-buff having visited a truffle farm last year, and dug up a pile of the black stuff, with the help of a dog (and a man). Obviously I cannot disclose where it was - the world of truffles is a secret one - suffice to say it consisted of 1,000 trees planted in straight lines, somewhere on the Valensole plateau in the Alpes de Hautes Provence, on very claggy clay.

France’s best truffles are in Provence, Perigordian, and as most of the wild stuff suffered fatally from recent droughts,   nowadays 80 per cent of national production takes place on plantations in the Vaucluse, under carefully selected, watered, nurtured oaks and nut trees.

It is a noisy business, following three dogs, joyfully sniffing and scratching the earth and howling houndfully when they scent something musky below the mud. Once they have found their ‘black diamond’, the dogs are quickly given a treat before they snaffle the loot which is strictly for human consumption.

Dachshunds are considered the best hunters because they are usefully close to the scent, can get under bushes easily and are very trainable.

However their little legs tire easily (an average day’s work can last up to eight hours to cover a plantation), so they are often bred with larger dogs to achieve both brain and brawn all wrapped up with one bright, sensitive nose. One of the dogs we used had originally been a poacher’s pooch, and he had cut her vocal chords so her excited bark would not give away their illegal presence in the woods.

If you are not lucky enough to dig for truffles yourself, you can find them at the various truffle fairs in our region, and at certain markets. The most famous auctions happen on Thursday mornings in the picturesque town of Aups in the Haut Var (until mid-February), which also has a spectacular Truffle Fair every January with exhibitions, dog sniffing competitions and special truffle menus.

Once you’ve got your truffle home you need to use it within about three days, during which time its smell will permeate your fridge and everything in it.

But you can make very positive use of this: have a look at these great recipe ideas.

Truffle brouillade
Put your truffle in an airproof plastic box with some eggs, and let the perfume soak through the shells for a day. For 4 people you need 8 eggs, butter, a little crème Fleurette, and as much thinly sliced truffle as you can afford - heat all the ingredients incredibly gently in a wide pan, stirring with a wooden spoon as you would do for scrambled eggs, and serve when the eggs are no longer raw, but still very unctuous, accompanied by a green salad, dressed with walnut oil.

Truffle-stuffed camembert (for 6-10)
-1 firm, not too ripe, camembert fermier au lait cru
-1 medium sized truffle
-2 tbsp truffle oil
- salt & freshly ground pepper

Cut the cheese horizontally with a longish knife. On the  bottom half spread a reasonably thick, even layer of thinly sliced truffles, then sprinkle liberally with salt, lots of freshly ground black pepper, and truffle oil. Replace the top half, wrap the stuffed cheese in paper, pop it back in its box, wrap the box tightly in clingfilm and refrigerate for three days. Remove an hour before using to add that ‘wow’ factor to your cheeseboard.

JY