I’m going to tell you a very dirty story…don’t get carried away! In fact, it is rather the story of a resurrection, that of the black pig of Bigorre. It is an animal that has been part of the Pyrenean heritage since Roman times and was very popular in the Middle Ages. He is purebred and very old, and is distinguished by the color of his coat. During the first half of the 20th century, it was very present in this territory and then, thereafter, it experienced a decline which almost saw it disappear forever because considered too fat and unsuitable for intensive farming conditions and industrial consumption standards!
It is a group of breeders and artisan butchers, aided by genetic researchers, which relaunched the breeding of black Bigorre pigs in the 1980s. A real challenge, since at that time there were only 34 sows and 2 males left with the breeders! They worked like crazy but the result is worth it: taste qualities fat from Bigorre Pork are exceptional. This same fat that we no longer wanted 30 years ago and which is so appreciated today! The pig spends its days frolicking in the grass stuffing itself with oak acorns… Since 2017, the Porc Noir de Bigorre and its ham benefit from an AOP. And her thighs are worth gold, a bit like those of the best runners!
On the other hand, not sure it’s a truffle pig, you can’t be good everywhere! But it’s true that to unearth (we’re talking about digging) the black diamond of Quercy, a well-trained pig can be very useful! Sometimes more than a dog… It’s a technique that was invented in Italy several centuries ago, probably during the Renaissance… The animal’s sense of smell is so developed that it spot truffles from far away, and just has to dig the ground with his snout to dig it up! Crawling for food is a natural activity for the pig and in addition, he loves truffles! Their perfume, very musky, would be quite close to that of the sexual organs of a female in heat… The real training, with a pig consists rather in preventing it from eating the truffles! And we understand that, because truffles are truly irresistible!
We know that the truffle is marketed in the region since the 14th century, because the pope of Avignon, Jean XXII, originally from Lot, consumed it, and François 1er, too. We also know that the golden age of the truffle was the 19th century: during the French Revolution, the peasants were able to recover land. They cleared them and mushrooms flourished on these grounds.
Later, as the demand is high, they plant truffle oaks. Towards the end of the 19th century, the phylloxera epidemic, a parasite, destroyed the vines: they were replaced by truffle oak plants! And then, it is also the time when the railway lines, which have just been put into service, allow truffles to arrive fresh in Paris. In the interwar period, the train that ran on the line from Bordeaux to Aurillac was nicknamed… the Truffadou! Winter production in Quercy is such that the lucky ones manage to have beautiful freestone houses built.
The summer truffle season has already started! But it is white truffle, and she much more shy than the other. This does not prevent our cyclists from having a good time and taking advantage of a small cure of vitamins D and potassium, perfect for the functioning of the muscles and the regulation of blood pressure, since they are part of the benefits of truffle!