THE TRUFFLE

The origins of an ancient perfume

The Truffle. A prized hypogeum fungus with an enchanting flavour. Pliny the Elder speaks of it, Napoleon Bonaparte loves it, Gioacchino Rossini crowns it as “the Mozart of Mushrooms”. Since the earliest days, the history of the truffle has had the unique scent of charm and mystery. The first signs date back to the times of the Sumerians and the Babylonians, when it was used in dishes based on legumes and vegetable ingredients. The ancient Greeks attribute the origin of the rare mushroom to the combination of natural elements such as water, heat, lightning. From here, the Latin poet Giovenale then handed down the story of the birth of the truffle as the result of a thunderbolt hurled by Jupiter near an Oak Tree.

Its flavour and the aromatic notes emanating from it make the truffle a desire and a vice of world gastronomy. The peridium and the gleba distinguish each truffle specimen. The outermost covering, the peridium, may appear smooth, velvety or rather warty. The gleba, that is the hearth of the truffle, varies from the light shades of beige to the warm tones of the darker hazel and can be seen as a pronounced marbled pattern. 80% water, 20% mineral elements, proteins, lipids, soluble carbohydrates. These are the numbers that make up the truffle, making it the ideal ingredient for every diet.