Photos ©Delly Carr 2022
We are often asked how we know if a truffle is mature (truffle speak for 'ripe'). This is a good question. Although the dogs are fabulous at detecting truffle aroma even deep within the ground, they can't tell us if the truffle is actually just right to harvest. This is important, as unlike bananas and avocados, truffles to not continue to ripen once picked. What you harvest is what you get. So that's where the art and the science come in. We carefully check the truffle aroma for all the right components that indicate maturity. And we do that while it is still relatively undisturbed in the ground. It's a delicate balance though- harvest too early and the truffle lacks that special something in flavour and scent; leave it too long at it becomes what we call "over', and that's not ideal. We mark truffles found by the dogs which are not quite ready and come back to check every single day- just to get them at that elusive, magic point. Just right ☺️
P.S. This is why truffle farmers always have dirt on their noses!