A national and international exhibition of handicrafts and regional specialities such as foods is held in Firenze at the Fortezza da Basso during the last week of April every year. I visited the exhibition in 1999 and was very interested to see the large numbers of fungi and fungal products on display, particularly the different kinds of truffle. Apparently seven species of truffle are collected by the professional truffle hunters in Italy and four of these species were on display at the exhibition. The other three species which are not collected at this time of the year were available in the preserved form and as components of various sauces, creams, butters, flavoured oils and cheeses. Sadly, only the latter species can be found growing in England.
Truffles grow underground in association with certain trees.
They produce their characteristic aroma to attract animals such as pigs and squirrels which dig up and eat the fruit bodies dispersing the spores via their faeces. Unlike some wild fungi truffles can be eaten raw. Dried porcini is readily available from supermarkets in England and can be used to flavour sauces, soups and stews. Also, only small quantities of the dried fruit bodies are required in cooking. I thank representatives from Poddi Tartufi and Giuliano Martinelli for allowing me to take pictures of their produce.