SOMMELIER TRUFFLE TEAM
Mushrooms of the elite
As once mentioned by Jean Anthelme
Brillat-Savarin “In fine, the truffle is the very
diamond of gastronomy.”
--
With 31 Kcal are provided by 100 grams of
truffles, so they are recommended for those
on a diet
10 million tons of mushrooms and truffles
are consumed yearly throughout the world.
China is the number one consumer with 7
million tons, followed at a great distance by
Italy and then ther United States
20,000 USD were spent by singer Jay-Z in
2012, when he decided to stock up on Alba
truffles but two years earlier, Stanley Ho,
owner of the Macau casino, spent as much
as 330,000 dollars for two truffles weighing
1.3 kilos and I can vouch for this I had the
privilege to work at the Grand Lisboa Casi-
no’s Robouchon au dome three Michelin
starred restaurant and I enjoyed every
Truffles season then. Based on my research,
Facts and figures apart today I would like to
put some light on Truffles of OZ land.
The 2017 Australian winter black truffle
season caused delicious delight across the
globe. It’s now common to see Australian
black truffles (tuber melanosporum) on
dining tables in Paris, Tokyo, Hong Kong and
New York. Black truffle lovers were impa-
tient for the 2017 season to start and reluc-
tant to see it end! While the calendar regards
the Australian winter as starting on 1 June,
black truffle season really doesn't commen-
ce until later. Australia enjoyed a mild June
in 2017, more like autumn (great for other
funghi). Cold weather and frosts are essential
for truffles to develop and mature.
Friend & Burrell ( http://friendandburrell.-
com.au ), fine ingredient distributors based
in Melbourne, Australia, involved in the
industry since the early harvests over a
decade ago, say that Australia’s 2017 black
truffle season has given even greater assu-
rance that the future of the Australian indus-
try is interesting, prosperous and abundant
in high quality tuber melanosporum.
The concept of terroir is becoming more
interesting with the emergence of small,
independent farmers across the nation
delivering their first harvest of black truffles.
All tuber melanosporum share the same
genetic characteristics of their species,
however, to an experienced eye and nose,
there can be an appreciable difference in
appearance, aroma and flavour of truffles
grown in New South Wales to those in
Manjimup, Western Australia or Western
Tiers, Tasmania or in Gordon, Baw Baw or
Hepburn in Victoria.
Local fresh truffles are springing up in many
cold-climate regions in Australia - it's exci-
ting to see local eateries using truffles
produced locally. This year, Brae Restaurant
in Birregurra, Victoria (ranked 44 in the
world), served black truffles harvested 30
kilometres away by Corunnaire Produce in
Corunnun.
Hundreds of kilograms of high quality, fresh
black truffles are celebrated in restaurants,
cafes and bars, and in home kitchens across
Australia. They’re also exported to the
world's best chefs in the UK, USA, Japan,
Thailand, Hong Kong, Singapore, Phillipines,
France, Italy, Germany and Denmark,
amongst others. Chefs in Australia are beco-
ming more adventurous and confident in
cooking with black truffles.
A hospitality group from Melbourne, Austra-
lia is so dedicated to black truffles they’ve
opened OUT restaurant in Tokyo (
http://www.out.restaurant. ), serving exce-
llent black truffle pasta, Nebbiolo and a Led
Zeppelin soundtrack.
Australia has long being planting and experi-
menting native Italian grape varietals and
definitely the current truffle scene and wine
is a must try.
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