Wild truffles
Posted by shelloid on Apr 04, 2009 · Member since Nov 2006 · 4427 posts
ok so this might be a weird question, but last night we were looking at a recipe that called for truffle oil and Niall asked I would eat truffles if they were wild truffles.
Now I know the truffles themselves are not animal derived, but the way in which they are found is not particularly animal friendly. So as a veg*n would you eat wild truffles?
Ok, going out on a limb here....how are wild truffles found? I've only seen a movie where the heroine is wandering around the forest with a pig at her side and she takes some of the truffles before the pig can eat them all. It was a fairy tale story so I suspect that's not what they really do...but I don't knw what they really do.
I looked it up, and apparently you *do* bring a pig (or a dog) with to sniff out the truffles. (there was also some stuff about cultivating truffles by growing the trees they tend to grow on, but those ain't wild) I guess it becomes a question of service animals, like police dogs and such. Not sure how I feel about that personally, but I don't think truffles are really worth it anyhow. Now, if you needed an avocado-sniffing pig, then I'd have to think about it, but truffles? Meh.
Truffles...the mystery thing. What is it? Not a fungus, not a tuber, not a...see. And sometimes they will grow for years in one place and then disappear from there for decades. (Probably because they're dug up, you spose?) They don't really know how they propagate, and therefore can't cultivate em. So all truffles are technically "wild."
As far as taste goes, I've never had access to a fresh one. The ones I can get in jars are way over-priced and IMO over rated. Maybe I'd change my mind if I tasted a fresh one but I don't think so.
I've only had truffle oil and to me it had a kind of earthy musky taste. Not unpleasant but not all that great for me either. I just figured it was one of those acquired tastes that I couldn't afford to acquire anyway and left it at that.
truffle hunters use dogs, and in my experience, these dogs are very well loved and cared for. certainly they are much better loved than other dogs in these rural areas, so i dont really understand what the issue is with this. Personally I wouldnt eat truffle oil.....its nothing to do with any natural product, its made from chemicals in a laboratory, and it tastes nasty
In France they use both dogs and pigs to sniff out truffles, and it's a race to see who digs it up first--man or animal! But you're right, they are well cared for and loved, as well as valued for their mad skillz.