Tuber melanosporum or Périgord truffle, this mushroom is one of the jewels of French gastronomy. Its culture, its harvest also called the cavage and the good advice in the kitchen, France Bleu tells you everything.
On January 29 and 30, 2022, the truffle festival takes place in Sorges, one of the highlights of the famous black diamond in Périgord. This fungus, tuber melanosporum, grows underground at the foot of various trees such as holm oak, hornbeam, linden, pine and hazel. The truffle develops in May then grows and acquires size and weight during the summer. Red in August, this mushroom takes on its black color when it matures. This is when the truffle develops all of its powerful aromas. It is harvested from December to February.
This noble mushroom is one of the jewels of French gastronomy. Its price changes from year to year depending on the quantity harvested. The year 2022 is better than the previous one, the average price is 700 euros per kilo. The Périgord truffle is aptly named the black diamond!
How are truffles harvested?
To find the truffle, there are three different harvesting techniques, known as cavage:
- Fly truffle that comes to lay its eggs where there is a ripe truffle so that its larvae feed on the truffle. Find the fly, you will discover a truffle!
- The pig and more specifically the sow which sniffs the smell of the truffle with its snout in order to eat it.
- The dog with all breeds of dogs, except those with flattened muzzles, which can search for truffles. For the dog, it is Pavlov’s reflex: seek, find and receive a reward. This is today the most widely used method for digging truffles.
The Périgord truffle in the kitchen
In the kitchen, the black truffle is eaten in different forms. It can accompany a mayonnaise that you add to your mimosa eggs, a semi-salted butter to make a truffled butter, flavor mashed potatoes or even a Périgueux sauce that will accompany red meat without forgetting the famous brouillade or the truffle omelet.
The truffle omelet
The recipe for the Périgord black truffle omelet proposed by Pierre Chaminade, truffle grower in Sorges (24) at the Domaine de Saleix.
For 2 people, you need: 4 eggs, a nice truffle, salt, pepper and butter.
- Cut a truffle with a mandolin. Keep a few thin slices for decoration after cooking. With a knife cut the slices to obtain small pieces of truffle
- Place the truffle pieces in a container, such as a salad bowl, then crack the eggs on top. Mix well with a fork then add salt and pepper. Preferably, this step should be done the day before so that the truffle flavor is fully released in the eggs.
- Add a teaspoon of cream before cooking
- Cook in a hot pan with a little oil
- Mix during cooking, keeping it very runny
- Roll it in a dish and place the truffle slices on it before serving