HISTORY OF THE
BLACK WINTER TRUFFLE

There is documentary evidence of the black winter truffle dating back to Ancient Times. Some historians date the first mention of the black winter truffle as a food to 1500 BC. It is known that the Greeks used truffles in their esteemed cuisine and that the Egyptian Pharaohs enjoyed dishes with truffles.

Over the centuries, this hypogeous fungus - classified nowadays within the Tuber family, which lives underground and is rootless - became highly desirable and legends abound regarding its origins and divine qualities. Its price was high and when found on the dinner table was a sign of nobility and the power of those offering it. In addition, it was said to be an aphrodisiac, as demonstrated by the pagans offering truffles to Venus. This belief was supported by renowned thinkers of the time, including Pythagoras and Galen, who asserted that the black truffle was a nutritional food which predisposed one towards voluptuousness.

This prized fungus was served at the dining tables of the most refined diners of the era, such as Louis XVIII. Nero went so far as to declare it 'a delicacy of the Gods'. Napoleon Bonaparte was a great aficionado of the black truffle. The black truffle became known to the world through the 'Exposition Universelle' held in Paris in 1855 and its excellent culinary properties began to be championed.

The black winter truffle was also credited with medicinal properties, particularly as an antidote to gout and as an effective antibiotic.

At the end of the 19th century, Anthelme Brillat-Savarin, considered the founder of modern gastronomy, highlighted the delicacy of the black truffle and called it 'the black diamond of the kitchen', a term still used today to refer to this precious, delicate product.