Truffles are known as 'black gold' in Manjimup, Western Australia

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We bought our fire-fighting unit from a musician who lives near Manjimup, about an hour south of us. In the course of conversation, he mentioned that he had had his first few harvests of truffles. He hoped the income from the truffles would be his superannuation. Manjimup has a big truffle industry but I haven’t heard of them being grown elsewhere in Western Australia. I didn’t know much about truffles and, in case you don’t either, here’s some of what I found out. Truffles are the fruit of a subterranean fungus which are usually found close to tree roots. Oak and hazelnut trees are commonly used as hosts. There are a number of truffle species and several are prized in haute cuisine. One of these is the French Périgord black truffle (Tuber melanosporum) which is produced in the Manjimup region. In 2016, truffles were bringing between $2,000 and $3,000 a kilogram. Because of their pungent aroma and high price, truffles are usually used very sparingly They are often served raw and shaved over warm, simple foods, or slivers may be inserted into meats. Interestingly, it seems truffle oil is a big ‘take’ with either a synthetic agent or inexpensive truffle varietals providing the truffle ingredient. What I found particularly interesting is that pigs or dogs are used to locate the truffles. This they do by scent. Traditionally pigs were used as they have an inborn ability to sniff out truffles. However, they are also inclined to devour what they find. Dogs can be trained to locate truffles but not so inclined to eat them. I wish I’d thought to ask our friend how he locates his. Being such an expensive item, it’s no wonder they are known as ‘black gold’. Photo of a Mangalitsa pig we saw in Ireland.