Hello and welcome In many areas of the northern hemisphere, October has been unseasonably warm. With the continued mild weather and much needed rainfall, the summer truffle season is starting to pick up, and wholesale prices last week reached unusually high levels. Of course now that we're entering November, the season for Perigord truffles (Tuber melanosporum) and the white alba truffle (Tuber magnatum) is also upon us, and with such a great seasonal range on offer, many restaurants start to become truffle focused. In mid October we ran our mushroom foraging day and truffle Q&A at the Michelin-rated Walnut Club, which was a huge success, selling out so fast we're running it again this month (see below). Now that October is drawing to a close, we are also entering the prime tree-planting season and we are, of course, on hand to offer advice. It looks like some of this advice may be needed at a Royal Estate that's been in the news recently and all this will be discussed below. Finally, we're starting this month's newsletter with an outline of our research being presented at an international conference this week. So for now, enjoy the updates and please feel free to get in contact with any questions or comments.
Kind regards,
Dr Paul Thomas and the Mycorrhizal Systems Team
Science presented in Vienna
This week we're excited to be presenting our research at the First European Conference on the "European" Truffle Tuber aestivum/uncinatum. Hosted at the Biodiversity Centre of the University of Vienna, this is a small gathering of scientists which we hope will strengthen in numbers with each meeting. Although only a small meeting, we'll be presenting a few select areas of our in-house research. Our primary topic will be the growth and development of truffle-trees in relation to abiotic (non-living, chemical and physical, environmental) factors. We're presenting how several key climatic factors have a distinct influence on development, independent of soil conditions, using unique, paired, in-house research sites. Additionally, we'll be displaying how weather, as well as soil mapping and interestingly, population density, can predict wild-truffle locations. The above are extracts from our in-house research, most of which remains out of the pubic domain and only disseminated to Partners. However, we will be publishing this data on the website next month for those of you in need of some bed-time reading! For further information on this or any aspect of truffles, please get in contact: Shop@PlantationSystems.com or +44(0)1433 659 167.
Planting and Tree Deliveries
As we're leaving October and entering November, our first plantings of the season are being undertaken in the Northern hemisphere. Traditionally, November and December are good months to plant, as the trees are dormant and planting in early winter allows the truffley-roots plenty of time to settle in before mycorrhiza and root-growth starts again in spring. Whilst seeds are just germinating in the Southern hemisphere, in our northern hemisphere sites trees are being planting and tree-dispatch is ramping up. We always hold a little extra stock, so if you're interested in starting you own plantation in the coming months get in contact and we may be able to help you. For those of you looking at 1ha or more, you'll also be eligible for our Partnership Programme. For further information, please contact: Shop@PlantationSystems.com or +44(0)1433 659 167.
Mushroom hunt, a meal and a chance to ask all your truffle questions€
After the success of October's event we've decided to run another mushroom foray with the superb Michelin rated restaurant, The Walnut Club, in the Peak District (UK). Running on the 18th November, there will be expert mushroom hunting guidance by Dr Paul Thomas, followed by a three course meal containing our finds and a number of talks from both a culinary and biological perspective. The truffle Q and A proved very popular last time, so again we will be giving you the opportunity to ask all those truffle questions that you've been storing up! For more information, or to book, email from The Walnut club website www.thewalnutclub.com or +44(0)1433 651 155
Duke of Edinburgh- Sandringham
The famous Sandringham Estate seems to have its eyes on a truffle prize. The only problem being - there are no truffles! This month has seen this story publicised in several newspapers and in summary; the Duke planted several hundred truffle trees on the estate and is disheartened to have found not a single truffle. The Duke shouldn't be too disappointed, as the trees are only three years old, so a harvest may be a couple of years away yet. We didn't supply the trees, so we're not sure what quality he is dealing with, but alarm bells rang at Mycorrhizal Systems HQ when we read that the tree provider had recently tested the trees and declared that the truffle is the only fungus present (after three years in the ground!). Even without seeing the trees, we would dispute this. It looks like the Duke is in need of some serious and honest advice, so we have offered our services to help guide him on what he can really expect from the plantation€ If you are thinking of planting trees and would like some honest, bespoke guidance, please just get n contact: Shop@PlantationSystems.com or +44(0)1433 659 167.
Farewell to Gormet Magazine
In October, Conde Naste, the New York publishing house responsible for magazine favorites such as Vogue, Vanity Fair and Bon Appetite, finally called time on its premier food magazine, Gourmet. The publication started in the dark days of 1941 and offered as its first recipe a rather unusual choice considering the times. In all his wisdom the publisher, Earle R. MacAusland, decided that his readers would like nothing better than a recipe for Pheasant € la Bohemienne, using black truffles and predicted that, "Never has there been a time more fitting for a magazine like Gourmet." Well, we have certainly seen better times since those dark days of war and want, but it seems that the global recession of today has finally rung its toll on Gourmet magazine, but NOT on the truffle. Despite the recession, truffles are very much in demand, and celebrities are making it the ingredient of choice when dining out. In the past month actor Jennifer Aniston and singer John Mayer were spotted dining on ravioli with mushrooms and black truffles, whilst Music's reigning King and Queen, Jay-Z and Beyonc€ sat down to enjoy white truffles, lobster salad and a bottle of Dom Perignon. Finally, Russian Businessman Mikhail Prokhorov dined on truffle tagliolini blowing $19,000 on a single meal. He must have eaten a LOT of truffles!