Source · forager

Périgord truffle forager

Périgord Noir, Dordogne, FR

Placeholder forager entry — *Tuber melanosporum* (Périgord black truffle) grows underground in symbiosis with the roots of oak, hazel, and hornbeam. Found by trained dogs (formerly by trained pigs) in the limestone soils of Dordogne from late November to early March, sold at weekly markets in Sarlat and Lalbenque by graders who weigh and brush them by hand.

The forager category exists for ingredients that aren’t farmed — they’re hunted. Truffles are the canonical example. The dogs and their handlers walk the same plots their grandfathers walked; the truffles fruit in the same root systems; the market price moves in tandem with how dry the previous summer was.