Truffles are a unique underground mushroom that grow on the roots of trees which either naturally host the fungi or have been inoculated with truffle spores.
Truffle production in Australia began in Tasmania in the 1990s and has now spread to all other states.
Last year Peter Marshall from Reidsdale found some Perigord truffles or Tuber melanosporum, and this year had enough AA grade product to sell them commercially. He said his truffles had good perfume and form and were well received in restaurants in Sydney, Melbourne and Paris.
Finding truffles is no lucky accident. Marshall has invested heavily, planting 6,000 hazelnut and oak trees seven years ago. The trees need to be nursery inoculated and raised with the truffle spores, and with a background in forestry, Marshall has recreated a 19th century French forest, with particular attention to the soil environment, and has specifically chosen his tree stock by genetics.
Having just returned from the Australian Truffle Growers Association Conference in Melbourne over the weekend, Marshall believes it is this different approach that has led to success. Peter has also invested in 'Sal', a specially trained dog, which are needed to sniff out the pungent truffles.
Martin Royds and Patricia Solomon found their first truffles last week in a smaller stand of trees planted seven years ago and have been experimenting with different infusions and recipes.
As a special treat to celebrate the truffle harvest in the district. DOJO Bread made a fermented brioche dough that included truffle egg (eggs stored with tuffle), truffle oil (oil infused with truffle) and grated truffle. "The response was amazing, including letters of thanks being received!" said Dojo Baker Matt Hulse.
Truffle has been said to be a 'fifth taste' or in Japanese 'umami' - a taste that is described as neither salty, sweet, bitter or sour.
Australian truffle production could grow by as much as 10 times its current level by 2013 but market development and further research will be needed to ensure the industry has a long-term future.
These are some of the conclusions of a stocktake of the industry presented last weekend by the Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation (RIRDC) at a truffle growers meeting in Victoria.
The stocktake found that production is estimated to grow from 800kg in 2007 (currently worth $1.6 million) to between five and 10 tonnes in 2013 from existing truffières alone. The size of mature truffière land is expected to grow from 250ha to 600ha in the same time frame at an average growth rate of over 20 per cent per year.
RIRDC's General Manager of New Industries, Dr Roslyn Prinsley, said the stocktake points to future success for the industry but also highlights constraints that need to be addressed.
"It highlights the need for export market research and development, particularly in Asia, and education of consumers in Australia. Further work will be needed to address biosecurity issues, industry sustainability and climate change, and research and development into marketing, production yields, quality and consistency of supply.
Dr Prinsley said "truffles can be an important niche industry for Australia but this stocktake report demonstrates that it will require further investment from the industry into marketing and research and development for success to be assured."
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