Email - news@themooraboolnews.com.au
News
The Moorabool News – 28 June, 2022 Page 5
Digging for black gold
Moorabool News journalist Carol Saffer, explores local outdoor delights By Carol Saffer As a journalist, I often do strange things while searching for a story. But last Saturday, kneeling on the ground under a French Oak Tree with my nose in the dirt was a first. I was sniffing for truffles along with 18 other visitors to Sue and Sharon Daly’s truffle farm in Blakeville. Abbie, one of two super sleuth canine scent detectives, led Sue and ten of us in the blue team around Truffle Treasures plantation, where we took turns lying, sniffing, and digging up the black gold. Sharon and Holly gathered the other guests onto their red team, determined to find more than we did. When I consider that the sisters together with Briody and John, employed as truffle harvesters, do this about four days a week depending on the weather, I realise how labour intensive the work is. It was a fabulous experience for me, even if it was nine degrees and damp under the tree canopies. The thrill of finally finding the precious truffles and smelling their earthiness made it worthwhile. The smelling process, while ungainly is imperative, as it detects the ripeness of the truffles and only ripe ones are harvested. Sue and Sharon planted 360 trees on their two-acre property when setting up the plantation. The maintenance of the trees is vital to a successful harvest, as they are inoculated with Tuber melanosporum, the Périgord black truffle fungus. Simply put, no trees, no truffles. The Daly sisters planted the trees to create their truffiere in 2007, and in 2011 had the first harvest. Wombats and rabbits love truffles almost as much as humans, so the sisters installed local animal-proof fencing around the farm. The first truffles harvested in Australia were from a plantation in Tasmania. There are currently 1000 Australian truffle farms and
collectively rank as the fourth largest producers of truffles in the world. At the end of our harvesting, the red and blue teams returned inside to sample what you can do with the truffles. It is often said that you eat with your eyes, well with truffles; you eat with your nose. A truffle’s aroma and flavour are hard to describe. Sue points out there are 94 different aromatics in black truffle, and just like fruit, the aroma profile changes as the truffle ripens. Our first taste was a slice of warm toast coated with truffle paste; it was simple and delicious. Next, there was total silence as the contented faces of the 18 visitors sipped and slurped homemade cauliflower soup topped with a dollop of cream and a generous topping of shaved truffle. I found it hard to pinpoint and describe the flavour. It was savoury, earthy mushroom-like with a hint of sweetness, similar to cinnamon sugar at the end of the palate. The piece de resistance was the pear semifreddo dessert, served with a slice of pear, hazelnuts and truffle. Margaret, one of the guests, received her invitation to Truffle Treasures as a birthday gift. “I loved it, particularly at the end, to get this beautiful and edible taste of what we have seen outside,” she said. Her companion Jess, a chef, was already planning dishes he could make with the truffles. Truffle Treasures, located at 68 Sultana Road Blakeville, sell their truffles for $2.50 per gram, weighing 10 to 300 grams. Most recipes would call for four grams of truffle per person. Farm-gate sales are available between 1.00pm and 5.00pm most weekends in winter. Look for the signs on the Ballan-Daylesford Road at Spargo Creek, near Korweinguboora. Sue and Sharon have a stall at the coming Ballan Farmers Market on Saturday, 9 July and Saturday, 13 August.
Moorabool News Journalist Carol Saffer sniffs out a truffle. Photos – Carol Saffer
These ladies were happy with their truffle find last Saturday.