A quest for the best can mislead. M elanosporum's comparatively subtle bouquet is rich, not aggressive, and highly variable. In my limited experi-ence, I have encountered the scents of violets, roses, and other flowers, of' sweet pork, fresh earth, cocoa, and if overripe of cheese, soy sauce, and smoke. If you don't love the perfume, you won't love the truffle. A ripe one has veins that are bright white and well spaced, the flesh dark grey.
Charcoal is right.
F arges contends that dehydration is the truffle's chief enemy. So we began marketing fresh white mushrooms as a winter specialty. Per capita consumption grew 192 percent between 1970 and 1994 in the United States, with fresh mushroom consumption increasing sixfold, according to the United States Department of Agriculture. Between 1987 and 1996, American shiitake production jumped from 3.6 to 6.5 million pounds and oyster mushrooms moved form 931,000 to 2.5 million pounds. N o other mushroom cultivated in this country exhibits as much quality variation as shiitake.