France: Truffle hunting in Provence

The 'rabasse' - the local name for the black-brown Perigord truffle, or Tuber melanosporum - is a highly prized truffle variety, known for its intense smell and flavour. Photo / Thinkstock

Heidemarie Puetz visits a region where truffles have been cultivated since the early 19th century.

Nelly Pellegrin is always accompanied by Flair when she goes truffle-hunting. The Brittany dog may be only three years old, but he is already expert at finding "black diamonds".

The dog's pointer-like behaviour directs his mistress to these underground sac fungi in her truffle garden near Cabrieres-d'Aigues in south-eastern France's Vaucluse department.

A brief and slippery ascent leads to a stand of holm oaks where the roots of the trees have been inoculated with the slow-growing truffle mycorrhiza - truffle cultivation reaches back to the early 19th century.

"Cherche les truffes," Pellegrin commands, and Flair immediately begins sniffing for the scent he has been trained to find.

Flair soon finds his quarry. These days the breed, known as epagneul breton, dominates the hunt. Very few of the "rabassier" - as truffle hunters are known in Provence - still use pigs in Vaucluse, which was once common. The dogs are said to be less greedy.

The "rabasse" - the local name for the black-brown Perigord truffle, or Tuber melanosporum - is a highly prized truffle variety, known for its intense smell and flavour. The name under which it is sold is something of a misnomer, as France's truffle centre lies here in Vaucluse, and not in Perigord to the east of Bordeaux.

About three quarters of French truffles are harvested around the foot of Mont Ventoux in Haut Vaucluse and Luberon, mostly from cultivated sources.

Truffles are considered a passion in Vaucluse, and even honoured with a special mass. Dedicated to St Antoine, the patron saint of truffle growers, the mass takes place in January in the village of Richerenches.

Pellegrin, 55, operates her truffle garden as a hobby, selling her wares on the truffle market in Carpentras. Using hand-held scales, buyers weigh the delicacy every Friday starting at 9am. Prices vary from week to week.

Carpentras, home to Roman ruins, a 14th century synagogue and a large nearly 300-year-old library, has been a market town since the ancient Greeks. This trip for Pellegrin has yielded 200 grams of cleaned truffle bulbs.

The L'Olivier restaurant in the medieval town of Pertuis provides an opportunity to experience the intense taste.

Chef Maxime Paillaud shows how to prepare a truffle Carpaccio or a "Brouillade aux Truffes", a dish made with eggs and truffle that is popular in the season.

France's truffle season runs from from late November until early March.

- DPA