Truffles

Truffles are the fruiting bodies of fungi of the genus Tuber. They grow underground, and are ectomycorrhizal - meaning that they form around the roots of certain trees (such as oak, hazel, poplar and beech) and exist in a complex symbiotic relationship with the humus layer of woodland. [1]

What's truly astonishing is that Truffles, these lumps of unattractive fungus, are incredibly highly prized among gastronomic connoisseurs. Prize specimens sell for astronomical amounts of money. Although the trade has declined significantly in the last 100 years, the truffle is not just an aphrodisiac of ancient times and clearly still has a phenomenal cult following - although it is now a rare delicacy: At the White Truffle Festival in Alba, Northern Italy, a 1.6 pound white truffle sold for $150,000 in November 2009. [1] Truffles are weighed precisely - as if they were gold or precious stones.

Truffles are hunted for (and have been throughout truffling history) by specially trained pigs (called truffle hogs) or dogs. The pigs have a tendency to eat the truffle when they find it, and so they must be observed keenly and pulled away when the truffle is discovered. The dogs used are easier to restrain, but not as enthusiastic about the truffle in the first place. What makes the truffle so attractive to the pig is the very thing that makes it appeal as an aphrodisiac: Its smell. Truffles contain a compound very similar to androstenol - a sexual pheromone in the saliva of male pigs - and the truffle hogs, which are female, go crazy for them. [1]

Human sexual chemistry is evidently not too dissimilar: According to "Truffles", by Elisabeth Luard and John Heseltine, truffles "smell like sex" - and this is the very reason why they are "delightfully aphrodisiac". [2]

Originally the chief locations for truffles were France and Italy. Truffles are now farmed commercially - including in France (with 80% of truffle production being through farmed truffles as opposed to ones growing naturally in the forest), Spain, the USA, New Zealand, Australia, The UK and Sweden. [1]

Truffles have been the subject of controversy - including poaching due to the high price. They are also imitated in modern cuisine. Owing to their imitation by chocolatiers, any people believe that a truffle is simply a type of fine chocolate; not knowing that the real thing is a type of fungus. Also, the majority of "truffle oil" that is sold commercially is in fact olive oil with synthetic flavoring. It has been nowhere near a real truffle. [1]

Truffles - History

Here's a fascinating (and amusing in places) account from 1694 of Truffles discovered in England:

Are Truffles an Aphrodisiac?

A fair amount of scientific research has been done on the truffle, and a number of scientific studies have been performed to investigate the truffle's aroma. However of the 167 studies listed on Pubmed in January 2012, none investigates directly the aphrodisiac quality of the truffle.

Truffle aroma is complex: A 2002 scientific paper from the Universidad Católica de Avila, Spain identified 37 volatile compounds from summer truffle aroma (Tuber aestivum). Most of these, it is stated, had previously been identified as being responsible for the truffle's aroma. [5] A 2005 paper reported findings that yeast strains from the ascocarps (fruiting bodies) of black and white truffles produced volatile organic compounds, some of which characterized the truffle aroma. [6]

A 2011 paper from the dept. of Molecular Phytopathology and Mycotoxin Research, University of Goettingen, Germany, reviews the last 30 years' research on truffle volatiles, stating that although the truffle's aroma may be "seductive" to humans, its primary purpose is as an attractant to mammals and insects which locate the precious fungi underground and spread their spores. [7]

Truffles also contain polysaccharides. [8] This interesting and complex group of molecules are found in other fungi including Cordyceps.

It's clear that something with an aphrodisiac reputation going back so far into history, and persisting for so long, has not earned it for no reason. The fact that truffles are hunted by animals for reason of their pheromonal scent, leads one to consider that humans seduced by the aroma of truffles are likely reactive to the same molecules.

People either love or hate truffles. While some quite literally go delirious over them, the smell has also been described as "goat piss" and "dead mouse trapped in a wall". Perhaps there is a similar phenomenon occurring here that has been observed by scientists researching pheromones - that certain scent markers in human sweat can be experienced as either very pleasant or very unpleasant, depending on the genetics of the recipient. Science still has much to learn about the subject of pheromones - but it is learning more all the time and it seems only a matter of time before pheromones are actually accepted by science as acting in the human realm.

We leave the last word on the Truffle to connoisseur Charles Lefevre - who stated "It's a foul aroma, a nasty aroma — and some people just absolutely love it. And I'm one of them." [4]

A word of caution: Never eat any fungus - including truffles - unless they have been positively identified by an expert. Some fungi are deadly poisonous.

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