What is a truffle, not everyone will say. The usual comparison is a bittersweet candy in the form of a cone. Truffle, however, is not only sweet. This is a mushroom, about which it is customary to say that, having tried it at least once, it will be impossible to forget the taste. A lot of legends are stacked around the truffle - about taste, that only a select few manage to find it, and much more. Is it so - we will find out further.
Where do truffles grow in Russia?
In general, truffle loves more than a country with a warm temperate climate. Ideal places for the growth of mushrooms are considered Portugal, Spain, Italy, Germany. However, we will find out this truly priceless mushroom (and why it is such, a little later) in Russia. Truffle places are Moscow, Vladimir, Tula, Oryol, Smolensk regions. Truffle grows in the Middle Volga. The question is different. It is very difficult to find a mushroom, therefore, residents of a particular area often simply do not know what wealth can be found on their lands.
Mushroom pickers also don’t know at what time it is necessary to collect ripe truffles, and how - only professionals can tell. Take white truffle, for example. Where this species grows in Russia, only true "hunter" truffles know. So, first things first.
What is a truffle?
First we find out what kind of mushroom it is. Truffle is considered a gourmet find, representing the world's most expensive mushroom. Its size can be up to 15 centimeters, weight varies from 100 to 500 grams. Truffle grows in the ground, at a relatively shallow depth of 15-20 centimeters. But the appearance of beginners can scare. Outwardly, the truffle is very similar to Jerusalem artichoke, forming a complex rhizome of an unsightly appearance with a light brown peel and a soft inside. This variety of mushrooms is distinguished by a bright aroma, as well as a meat taste, which does not even remotely resemble the taste of a mushroom. Truffles come in two types - black and white. The latter are large, they choose the above areas of growth. And where does the summer truffle grow in Russia (it's black)?
Black truffles can be found both in the Caucasus and on the Black Sea coast.
Breeding methods
Truffles reproduce in a way that is not quite usual for mushrooms. In ordinary species, this process occurs with the help of parts of the mycelium (seeds), spores, or with the formation of a secondary mycelium. Spores of simple fungi are carried by wind or water. Truffles are different. They can reproduce in the only way - with the help of animals. Since the seeds of the fungus are underground, neither the wind nor the water can get it, much less transfer it anywhere. Seeds are distributed on the ground with the help of animals, which they dig up and eat, leaving pieces of the mushroom, from which then a new one is formed. So, how these mushrooms reproduce and where truffles grow in Russia, we learned. Go ahead.
What forests love truffles
No matter how strange it may sound, the truffle is a rather capricious mushroom. He is friends with only a few species of trees, so looking for them in other forest belts is simply pointless. So, truffle (mushroom) in Russia where it grows? He selects the area near the very roots of the tree. There it is convenient and comfortable - there is always a lot of moisture, which gives the mushroom a full development. Hornbeam and beech truffles are especially fond of. They can also be found in the rhizomes of birch or excavated in hazel. But the most favorite tree is the oak. Oak groves - this is where truffles grow in Russia (the photo below is taken in the truffle season).
This is another indisputable plus - both simple pigs and wild boars feed on acorns.It is their aroma that attracts animals to the location of the truffle, and then the point is small. Mushroom is a favorite treat of these animals. Its aroma is much stronger than the smell of acorns. Wild boars smell it and dig it out, thereby giving a chance to breed further.
Methods of production and cultivation
So, we will stop on methods of extraction of this mushroom. Where truffles grow in Russia - we remember. How do they breed - too. But we can find out how to get them now. To search for this expensive mushroom, specially trained pigs or dogs are used.
The smell of truffles is bright especially at night, which is why they are “hunted” in the dark. You can also find them by a swarm of midges, which certainly swirls over their location, enjoying the aromas of mushrooms. Dig the truffle very carefully, trying not to damage both the mushroom itself and the roots of the tree from which it grows. And now to the main thing - where do truffles grow in Russia at home? The answer is simple: nowhere. In our country, trial growing processes are underway. The fact is that they are very complex - the earth is strewn with acorns that crumbled at the place where the fungus grows. The soil is being prepared, suitable for growing oak, mixed with the one where the truffles grew. Collected acorns land there, and only after 6 years you can get the first crop. Today, given all the subtleties, truffle in Russia is easier to buy than grow.
