The smell and taste of truffles are very sought after in the food world.Many chefs will pay a pretty penny for truffls because they are difficult to find and grow.If you are a chef in need of some fantastic flavor or someone who just likes the idea of making some good money, you should search for truffles in all of the likely places.Once you have found your truffles, use helpful tools to give you an advantage and a clean place to store and sell them.
Step 1: Go to the Pacific Northwest or western Europe.
They are hard to find.If you want to increase your chances of finding a few, look at countries in western Europe and the U.S. states in the Pacific Northwest.Search through forests in Italy, France, Oregon, and Washington.
Step 2: Where the soil is moist is a good place to look.
When there is a lot of rainy weather, it is best to look for where the ground is often damp.You can search for the best results after a heavy rain.
Step 3: There are beech, fir, and oak trees near you.
The roots of beech, fir, and oak trees must be present in order for truffles to grow.These types of trees have bases.
Step 4: The dirt around the trees is turning brown.
Look at the ground to see if there are any signs of the fungus, instead of digging around every tree that could have it.A browning effect called "brlée" will make the ground look burnt, rough, and darker than surrounding areas if truffles are present.
Step 5: There are small holes in the dirt.
Small holes can be found in the brlée areas.There is a sign that rodents are looking for food.It is possible that rodents smelled the strong aroma of the truffles and began digging to find and eat them.
Step 6: To identify truffles, look at their resemblance to small potatoes.
Black, white, or burgundy are some of the different types of truffles.They are typically between the size of a marble and a golf ball when ripe and ready to eat.Many of them look like small potatoes, so keep this in mind as you search.
Step 7: Train the dog to help you.
A dog's help is one of the biggest advantages you can give yourself.The search process is aided by the fact that dogs can only smell ripe truffles, so they won't dig up anything.They can be trained to not eat the truffles when they find them.There are many trainers that can help you train your dog to hunt in the northwestern United States.NW Truffle Dogs, Trifecta Training, and Toil and Truffle are some of the trainers.While pigs are good at finding truffles, they are more difficult to train and they often eat them.
Step 8: Use a rake to dig the truffles.
You can use a small rake to dig up the dirt underneath a tree if you think it may contain truffles.If there are truffles in the soil, they are likely to be 1 to 6 inches deep.Sometimes they can be found as deep as 1 foot underground.
Step 9: Night time searches can be done using headlamps.
In Italy, people dig all day every day hoping to strike it rich, in some of the more popular searching areas.If you want to search during the night, look for one of these areas.Simply put on a flashlight and dig.
Step 10: Use a nail brush to clean off dirt.
You can start running cold water after you collect some truffles.If you want to remove dirt from the outside of the truffles, use a nail brush or toothbrush.
Step 11: You can put your truffles in the refrigerator.
Wrap your clean truffles in kitchen paper or put them in a brown paper bag and roll the bag up tight.You can keep your truffles fresh for up to 10 days by storing them in your refrigerator.Don't use plastic to wrap your truffles.
Step 12: You can store your truffles in the freezer.
If you want to keep your truffles for longer than 10 days, you should store them in the freezer.You can either put them in a plastic bag, squeeze all of the air out, or grate the truffles, mix them with butter, and freeze the butter.If kept frozen, the truffles will stay good for up to 6 months.When you are ready to cook and eat the truffles, it is best to start cooking them while they are still frozen.
Step 13: If you want to sell your truffles, you should go to upscale restaurants.
Truffles are hard to find because they aren't grown commercially.It is highly demanded and desired in expensive, upscale restaurants.If the chefs of the upscale restaurants in nearby cities are interested in buying yours, email or call them immediately.