Truffles

UnEarthed
2 days ago
3 min read

Written by: Ryan Cho Edited by: Darrin Lin

https://stock.adobe.com/search?k=%22truffle+pig%22

Do you know what people in Italy often call black gold? It’s a truffle! Truffles are a type of fungus, a group that includes organisms like mushrooms, that grow near tree roots and are very hard to find. Because truffles grow underground and never appear on the surface, hunters have to rely on smell rather than sight. Many truffle hunters search early in the morning or in late autumn, when the cool air makes the scent stronger. Although truffles are incredibly difficult to locate, the reward at the end makes the search worthwhile. Their prized flavor and rarity makes them cost anywhere from $3,000 to over $5,000 per pound! But how can we seek out something beneath the soil? The answer lies in the incredible noses of animals.

One of the most impressive things about pigs is that they have an incredible sense of smell. They are able to smell scents up to seven miles away, making them perfect for detecting truffle smells that are often hidden deep in the dirt. In fact, scientists have found that truffles smell very similar to male pig saliva. This means that female pigs are naturally drawn to the smell; it’s practically irresistible! So, when a pig starts sniffing around the forest floor and gets excited, chances are it’s found a truffle.

The Trouble with Truffle Pigs

There’s just one tiny problem with using pigs for truffle hunting: pigs absolutely love to eat what they find. When the pigs finally uncover the truffles after several hours of searching, they often gobble them up immediately. It isn’t uncommon for farmers to wrestle the truffles out of the pigs’ mouths to save some for themselves! Every day could turn into a tug-of-war battle between the farmer and the pig over who got to keep the prized truffles. As you can imagine, this made truffle hunting a messy, funny, and sometimes frustrating job.

Dogs Join the Hunt

After years of struggling to save their truffles from hungry pigs, farmers eventually found a better solution: dogs. Dogs are very similar to pigs in the way that they have powerful noses. However, unlike pigs, they don’t have an uncontrollable craving for truffles. After lots of patient training, dogs learn to recognize the scent of truffles and lead farmers straight to them. One of the best truffle-hunting breeds is the Lagotto Romagnolo, a curly-haired Italian water dog known for its determination and cheerful personality. These dogs love to work, and when they find a truffle, they wait proudly for a treat instead of eating it.

Aside from the excitement of finding the truffles at the end, truffle hunting represents trust and connection between the farmer and the animals. The farmer relies on the animal to lead the way to the truffles, while the animal trusts the farmer to protect them. It takes years of practice and training before farmers and dogs are able to work perfectly together, seeking one of Earth’s most precious and rare fungi.

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Truffles

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