Italy's prized white truffles are so few and far between this autumn that prices have soared and some restaurants are being forced to take them off the menu.
White truffles, which are rarer and more pungent than black ones, are pricey at the best of times. But unusually dry weather this year has made it hard for the humidity-loving tubers to grow, making them rarer still.
In Tuscany the delicacy is now selling for 4,000 euros a kilo, more than twice as much as 2006, while at the famous Alba truffle fair in Piedmont a highly sought variety from the Langhe hills can even fetch 7,500 euros.
"The crazy prices have meant this Italian jewel has been taken off the menu in many restaurants," said Vittorio Palombo, head of a large truffle farming association in the southern Molise region.
He said demand from abroad had fallen off sharply too, with orders from restaurants in Munich down 60%, Brussels 50% and only Geneva, with a 30% drop, maintaining a respectable level of truffle consumption.
"Truffles have become a luxury again this year, a diamond that only a select few can afford," Palombo said.
White truffles, whose growing season is limited to the three months around Christmas, are traditionally produced in Piedmont and the Italian northwest. But they are also found in Tuscany and as far south as Molise.
Experts say that the long hot summer coupled with steady winds in truffle-growing regions has meant the tubers have not had the underground conditions in which they develop best.
SPECIALLY TRAINED DOGS.
Nestling in the roots of about 50 trees - mostly oaks but also hazels, poplars, mulberries and willows - truffles are rooted out by specially trained dogs.
The average weight of the few white truffles harvested so far this year is only 150 grams, while in other years 300 grams has not been unusual.
Palombo's operation in Molise, which normally produces 1.5 tonnes of white truffles, this year looks set to manage less than half that figure, he said.
But the change in Italy's weather in recent weeks, with rain suddenly becoming frequent, could give truffle farmers a late boost.
Apart from wetting the ground, the bad weather in truffle-growing areas has pushed back the harvesting, with the result that the tubers will have more time to mature.
"With the rain which has finally arrived, the white truffle is back in the game," said Giancarlo Picchiarelli, head of an association of 48 truffle-producing towns.
Despite the high prices this year, the white truffle's appeal appears undiminished. As proof of this, truffle farmers note that for the first time ever there will be a delegation of Chinese buyers at Florence's international truffle auction on December 1.
