At less than a month from the close of the harvest season of white truffle, we can make an assessment, unfortunately negative.
If 2014 will be remembered for being one of the greatest years of production, 2015 instead, would be remembered as one of the worst.
In both cases, decisive were the summer rains, in the first they were so plentiful that lead to overproduction (although the quality in some cases hadn’t been high), in the latter, the extreme drought and heat of last summer have affected the development of this precious mushroom, causing a limited availability, but fortunately the quality was excellent.
In the same way also black winter truffle was rare to find.
Unfortunately the irregular weather in recent years is straining the truffle, because it is very delicate and sensitive to environment changes in which it lives, so it is increasingly important to protect it with cultivations, taking care of the areas where it born spontaneously, not using pesticides, making strict controls against those who collect in prohibited periods or with methods not allowed.
Unfortunately, the low autumn rainfall does not promise a good season for whitish truffle, which already last year was almost impossible to find.
Despite the disappointing season, there has been some satisfaction, as we can see from these videos made during some of our research.
Enjoy!
e Tuscany Food Awards 2021 