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Truffles
The black truffles are known as the 'Diamonds of Perigord'
One of the most popular grown truffles is the tuber melanosporum, which is known by mycologists as "black truffles of Périgord".
Truffles are a fungus - an underground mushroom so to speak. Growing underground and requiring a very specific limestone soil with the presence of certain varieties of tree roots. A delicacy served in small portions, it is harvested late in the year, usually from December and through until March. It is best served in simple dishes that don't overpower the delicate flavour of the truffle, it is grown in and around Thiviers in the Périgord region of the Dordogne.
Truffle hunting season lasts from November to March and these days, dogs are used to hunt them down rather than pigs, who were perhaps a little too fond of the truffle themselves. The most prized truffle is the 'truffe du Perigord' or melanosporum tuber. Chefs adore them, and winter menus are stuffed full of dishes containing the 'black diamonds'.
You can buy them in markets throughout the Dordogne but beware of cheaper imitations such as the 'truffe de Borgogne'.
