Welcome to News from The English Truffle Company

Black Winter Truffle Grown in the UK!!

On our truffle hunting experience days, when I talk about truffle species I mention the Black Winter (Périgord) Truffle, the most valuable species of Black Truffle. I used to say that even under the most optimistic models of climate change, it won't be warm enough to get them in The UK. I have recently been forced to change this bit of the talk. A truffle plantation in South Wales produced the UK's first Black Winter (Périgord) truffle. This news was splashed across most newspapers (e.g. The Daily Telegraph), online (e.g. BBC News) and on the radio (e.g. Radio 4). These truffles are usually grown / found in Mediterranean climates such as southern France, northern Italy and Croatia. A Gwent truffle farmer planted 11 acres of inoculated truffle trees in 2008 including 100 Winter truffle trees as an experiment. He started harvesting Summer truffles in 2016 and in March found the UK's first Black Winter truffle. It was previously thought that the UK was too cool for this species but this find has shown that the climatic tolerance is greater than previously thought.

Black Winter Truffle

Truffle Orchard Success

We've visited a good number of truffle plantations across the UK over the years with our "rent a truffle hound" service. To see the landowner's reaction when their first truffle is found is sheer delight. We had that experience again last week finding the first Black Summer truffle for a plantation in Warwickshire. It is likely that this is just the beginning with numbers increasing steeply over coming years.

To learn more about trying to grown your own truffles for gardens or plantations please visit the web site.

First Summer Truffle for this Warwickshire plantation.

Christmas Orders

The web site includes the dates for last orders for Christmas. If you would like truffles delivered in time for Christmas you need to place your order now. We only take a limited numbers of orders so please place them early to avoid disappointment.

Gift vouchers for truffles, truffle trees, truffle hunting or truffle dog training are available and will be sent by email. The last date and time that you can place orders for gift vouchers to be delivered by email is noon on Friday 22nd December.

Christmas Offers

We are currently offering our newsletter readers 10% off truffle shavers and truffle gifts. Use the coupon code 10%Xmas2017 at the checkout to get the discount. Code valid until 15/12/17 and only valid for the above products

We offer the finest Italian truffle shavers with a choice of steel or Olive wood. They help you get the most from your truffle exposing the maximum surface area to release the most truffle aroma.

Truffle Shavers - 10% off

We also have a range of attractively packaged, quality truffle gifts perfect for the foodie in your life or to treat yourself. We have a truffle oil selection containing English truffle oil (rapeseed) in addition to Black and White truffle oils made with Olive oil. In addition, we have a truffle hamper containing these three truffle oils as well as Black truffle salt, White truffle honey, minced truffle and truffle carpaccio.

Truffle Hamper - 10% off

Truffle Dog Training

Congratulations to Mick (handler) and Mia (18 month old standard wire haired dachshund). They joined us at our recent truffle dog training workshop in Lincolnshire and found their first truffles within 6 days!

Mick and Mia with their truffles found within 6 days of attending one of our workshops!

We have just added workshop dates to the web site for the first half of next year:

5th May - Near Chichester
12th May - Near Banbury

These fun and informative days will give you and your dog an excellent foundation towards finding truffles. The focus of the day will be field-based exercises for you and your dog using truffle scent.

Feedback from the recent Lincolnshire workshop included:

We had a fabulous day, very informative and hopefully with a bit more work and practice we will be proficient truffle hunters! Thanks again for all your patience and hard work.

Thank you very much for the training course on Sunday, I found it really helpful and I am sure my dog (Lux) really enjoyed it.

Truffle Hunts

Happy group from our first Hampshire truffle hunt.

We have completed five of this season's public truffle hunting experience days including, last weekend, the first for a new venue near Basingstoke. This was a great success with 15 truffles found. Feedback included:

A huge thank you for a fabulous truffle hunting experience day! It was great fun and such a lovely group of people. Jack was the star of the show and such a great truffle hunter. Thank you too James for all your hard work - the day was a huge success. The pub was an excellent location and the woods are just beautiful and a good source of truffles.

Really great day out with you and Jack ..very informative. thoroughly enjoyable and very professionally organised. I cannot wait to return to France to try out my new found knowledge.

I just wanted to say thank you so much for today. Tom & I thoroughly enjoyed the day & were so impressed with Jack! Everything was so well organised & the food was amazing, not to mention the fresh truffles!

We are now fully booked for the rest of the season (October to January) but have just released the next season's programme with hunts in Dorset, Wiltshire and more dates in Hampshire.

Truffle News From Around The Globe

Truffle Prices reach record highs
According to the long standing "Borsa Tartufo" (truffle stock exchange of Italy - wholesale prices), the Summer Burgundy truffle (Tuber aestivum) has doubled in price from an all-seasonal 460 euros per kilo for the last two years, to a record high of 900 euros per kilogram this year. The famous White truffle (Tuber magnatum) has suffered a 90% reduction in harvest this year, hiking prices up to a staggering 5,000 per kilo on the Borsa, a rise from highs of 3,600 and 3,800 euros per kilo wholesale in 2015 and 2016. The Black Winter truffle (Tuber melanosporum) has recently been valued at 1,850 euros per kilogram.

Alba White Truffle auction
The winning bidder at this year’s White Truffle auction in Italy, from Hong Kong, paid €75,000 (£67,300) for a set of truffles weighing 850 grams. The proceeds of the auction, a highlight of the Alba Truffle Fair, go to charitable causes.

Hostess carries a set of truffles weighing 850 grams during the international auction for truffles at Alba, Italy, November 12, 2017. (Reuters)