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Whether the world's best truffles are found in Piedmont or Périgord inspires impassioned debate, but the effects of dwindling supply and insatiable demand for the elusive, ultimate mushroom are unquestionable: prices through the roof, intrigue and deception, and ever more intensive efforts to cultivate. Here in the most comprehensive practical treatment of the gastronomic treasure to date, the art and science of the high-stakes pursuit come together. The authors describe the commercial species in detail along with their host plants, natural habitats, cultivation, and maintenance, pests and diseases as well as harvesting with pigs, dogs, truffle flies and even the electronic nose.
Media Reviews
Few foods inspire as poetic a response as the elusive truffle - and yet also very few are so poignantly absent from most diners' plates. The extensive knowledge of three of the world's leading experts is pooled here to create what is obviously a work of love and enthusiasm for the subject.
The Bookseller 01/11/2007
The extensive knowledge of three of the world's leading experts is pooled here to create what is obviously a work of love and enthusiasm for the subject.
The Bookseller 09/11/2007
Aficionados, chefs, and cooking students can learn a lot here about these lords of the fungi realm.
Mark Knoblauch Booklist 01/01/2008
You should buy this book. ... It is pretty amazingly thoughtful and comprehensive and will surely become dirt-stained and probably also soiled by your truffle pig as you develop your empire. Really.
Kathie Hodge Cornell Mushroom Blog 20/02/2008
The pleasure of truffles can be both gustatory and emotional; likewise, this book provides both substantial information and evocative folklore.
Owen Dugan Wine Spectator 01/11/2008
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It is a lovely, luxurious book with many pictures and drawings. That the authors have a wonderful sense of humor is evident in the writing.
Kay Yount Journal of the Botanical Research Institute of Texas 01/07/2008
Filled with high-quality color photographs. The prose matches the elegant pictures nicely, even humorously at times, and takes the reader through the history of truffle hunting and cultivation. ... [It] would certainly attract all levels of mycologists from beginner through advanced, but it has the allure and witty prose to inveigle those who never imagined they could share our love and interest in fungi.
Britt A. Bunyard Fungi 01/10/2008
This fascinating, lavishly illustrated volume ... will keep the reader engrossed through site preparations, irrigation methods — and, yes, the actual tasting of the truffle.
Lavender 21/11/2008
[The authors] reveal the state of the art and science of producing the 'ultimate mushroom' in a splendidly interesting and informative way. ... This book is outstanding.
Jim Trappe Inoculum 01/07/2008
Even if you don't crave growing truffles, this informative and highly readable book reveals the fascinating mysteries, lore, and biology of this ultimate food better than any other book in English. It is a paragon of science written for the interested layperson.
Jim Trappe Gastronomica 01/01/2009