Christmas is a very different kind of holiday for the majority of people involved in the food industry. Indeed if all goes well, it is the most hectic time of the year.
Those working in the sector have to be prepared well in advance unless they want to risk disappointed customers. The global truffle industry is no exception as the product is in great demand during the holiday season. In Italy, it is common to give white truffles as a gift. The tuber magnatum is often the star of a luxury hamper sitting as the centrepiece surrounded by a mouth-watering array of cheeses and meats. This sort of delicatessen selection is frequently gifted to business associates and the bigger the truffle the better the impression the giver will make. As well as being a fancy present, truffles are part of many a Christmas dinner. It is one of the most important meals of the year, so why not push the boat out? What with presents and meals to sort out, small wonder that hunters, traders and sellers are mad busy in the run up to the holidays.
Even now, a full week before Christmas Eve, truffle sellers have stocked up for the buying rush. This means again that when demand is high, quality plummets. Buyers will need to be lucky to get hold of a fresh, fragrant truffle. There is a world of difference between a 9-day-old truffle and a 24-hour one. Top chefs know this as they have the experience to differentiate between truffles. Their discerning noses ensure that chefs will get the cream of the crop. The worst of the crop are then sold to the unsuspecting home cook. This really seems offensive considering the high prices that white truffles command. It also offends many hunters on a personal level. When you actually worship truffles and think about very little else, you want others to share the joy. It becomes more important to spread the thrill of a sublime gastronomic experience than to make a killing on the Christmas market. Some sellers have more scruples but many care little that their lacklustre stale offerings will be a huge Yuletide log of a disappointment for some unlucky customer.
As hunters, we don’t work this way. It is not our job – our concern is to go out and find fresh truffles every day. We are not interested in stockpiling truffles and we don’t play the market. Our truffles are sold fresh within a day of being harvested or, in the worst case scenario, the following day. When they are gone, they are gone. As with nearly everyone in the food industry, we work harder than ever over the holiday. Unless it is pouring with rain, hunters do not enjoy the traditional Christmas dinner as they will be out hunting with the dogs. This means that over the period we will be able to provide our customers with the freshest truffles on the market. If you find this interesting and would like to pre-order, we can reserve truffles for you as they are found. To see photos of the day’s batch and select which truffles you would like, email me at julie@realtrufflehunters.com
Merry Christmas to you all!
*Unfortunately because of covid 19, there have been a number of shipping disruptions. This means that the final guaranteed dispatch date for Christmas (Europe outside of Italy) is December 22nd 2020. This will be with DHL. For New Year, orders will need to be shipped by December 29th 2020. Supply will depend on the weather conditions. We are accepting pre-orders from 18th December on a first-come, first-served basis.
