In European and American literature, the term “truffles” describes underground ascomycetes, whereas the term “pseudotruffles” is also used for underground basidiomycetes. More specifically, the term “truffles” in its narrower sense refers to species of the genus Tuber. The Latin word tuber means swelling, lump, or clod – a name indicating their bulbous form, or, according to another theory, the swelling of the soil above the fruiting bodies that grow underground.
Underground mushrooms are unearthed not only by humans but also by trained dogs, pigs, goats, and other mammals.
References to truffles appear in ancient Greek and Latin texts, as well as in historical sources from other Mediterranean cultures. Plutarch speculated that they were clay baked by lightning, while Pliny the Elder called them “a marvel of nature.” In the Middle Ages, superstitions linked truffles to the devil. In contrast, the English poet and philhellene Lord Byron considered them a source of inspiration and always kept one on his desk.
Today, truffles are regarded as a gourmet delicacy and a natural aphrodisiac. Once reserved for royalty and the wealthy, they have found their way into high-end restaurants and public food festivals across Europe (notably in Italy and France) and Greece (e.g., the Panhellenic Truffle Festival, the Mushroom Festival).
The most sought-after is the white (Tuber magnatum), whose price ranges from high to astronomical levels, followed by the black melanosporum (Tuber malanosporum), which is also called the “diamond of the Mediterranean”. The black winter truffle (Tuber brumale), the summer black truffle (Tuber aestivum), and the Bianchetto truffle (Tuber borchii) complete the quintet of commercially valuable species.
Source: George Konstantinidis, Mushrooms: A Photographic Field Guide for Foragers, 2014
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