Quon-Adams, Kalie

Hi! My name is Kalie and I am a fourth-year International Studies-Poli Sci major.

One of my favorite foods ever are tater tots and one of the best tater tot dishes I ever had were these loaded ones that came with béchamel sauce on top and had bacon bits and chives sprinkled throughout. Because they had bits of bacon, they would not be considered kosher or halal, as bacon is not a "clean" type of meat. Overall though, I really did enjoy those tater tots, and I still think of them often. 

Here is this recipe to the Mornay suace I want to try making this weekend for the Superbowl: https://www.thespruceeats.com/classic-mornay-sauce-recipe-996215

Scuffles Over Truffles, Oh My!

Answering the research question, “What is the cultural and economic significance of the truffle as a luxury ingredient?”

1. Introduction

Synonymous with luxury and famous for their distinct aromatic flavor, truffles have been a key ingredient in many dishes around the world for centuries. Following the journey of truffles is significant not only because of their rich history, but also because of their status as an ingredient of luxury and their relevance to the exploration of the broader cultural and economic themes that revolve around food. Truffles are a beloved flavor enhancer for food, and it should be appreciated that they are not only delicious, but also important from an anthropological perspective to understanding how the role of an ingredient can have such a significant impact on different cultures and economies. From the unique way they are hunted to their complex economic impact, truffles find themselves on a remarkable journey to the many dishes that they enhance and the various other uses they have.

2. Background 

Truffles were originally used and eaten in Syria, though their uses have since evolved. They were originally a mystery to ancient civilizations like the Greeks and Romans, as demonstrated by Roman author and naturalist Pliny’s mystified description in which he details them, “an agglomeration of elementary Earth” (Nowack). Furthermore, they have always been an ingredient of luxury due to their rarity, though they inherently should not have been according to historical cultural norms spanning different centuries. This is especially true for the Renaissance, in which food grown in the ground was classified as a “base” ingredient that was only fit for “vulgar” people (Nowack). Truffles becoming an ingredient of “luxury” in spite of this is anthropologically significant to commentary on food symbolism more broadly, as societies assign value to the truffles, which in turn makes them available only to a certain class of people. This is similar to the notion that Heather Looy and the other authors make in their text, “How then shall we eat?” where they discuss how attitudes toward eating certain foods like insects can be harmful to the global community as a whole, since it works against sustainable eating practices and stigmatizes the cultures that do eat insects. Just as many societies have placed an invented value on truffles, many other societies place an invented aversion to other insect-based ingredients and foods. Thus, both of these cases demonstrate the importance of food symbolism from an anthropological perspective, and highlight why it is important to examine the cultural and economic significance behind ingredients which have these specific connotations around them.

3. The Hunt 

Truffles have historically been hunted in European countries like Spain, Italy, and France, though they have since begun to be hunted in other regions across the globe as their popularity increases in the modern era. Truffle hunting was something that has been historically intriguing to many, as C.G Lloyd demonstrates in his journal publication regarding  truffles being hunted in Italy in the early 20th century. In his article he reported that there were many misunderstandings surrounding the truffle in areas where the truffle was not as popular in cooking like the United States or England, since in these regions many assumed a truffle was like a potato due to its disposition to grow in the ground (Lloyd). He also delved into how the truffles were actually hunted in the foothills of the Alps in Italy, with dogs and pigs being used for their ability to smell the distinct aroma of the truffles despite being buried five or six inches underground (Lloyd). This in itself illustrates the cultural significance of truffles in Europe, since people were willing to put so much effort into training dogs and pigs to find an ingredient which other regions of the world considered to be no different than a common potato. However, the truffle and its value has since spread in popularity in the modern era, and with this increased popularity a frenzy for hunting truffles in other continents outside of Europe. This is evident in countries like China where truffles are now being hunted in the area that borders Tibet and Vietnam, as the black truffles that grow in this region are very similar to those grown in France (Renowden). Because of aging rural populations and changes in forest management, truffles are becoming harder to find in the original countries where truffles were hunted in Europe, so the Chinese truffle can fill this niche, though many European chefs do complain that these truffles are of a worse quality than the French ones (Renowden). These concepts further demonstrate the cultural significance of truffles, since such a value is placed on them that even when suitable replacements are found in other countries, they are not held to as high of a regard. This also suggests that there are racial implications behind the value of a truffle, since truffles found in non-European countries are looked down upon. The idea of truffles spreading in popularity in recent decades is reminiscent of the Columbian Exchange notions that Alejandro Colás wrote about in his book Food, Politics, and Society where both food cultures and actual foods themselves were spread across the world through the age of exploration. This emphasizes how culture can spread beyond borders, especially through food, and reiterates the significance of ingredients like the truffle. Though truffle hunting may have spread across borders, it is still practiced in European countries like Italy, and can even transform the economies of small towns as evident in the Sicilian region of the Sicani Mountains. Sicily had been a previously unexplored region for truffles until their discovery in this area in the mid 20th century, and since then the economy of this region has been elevated (“Truffle Gathering”). The price of truffles is not regulated in this region as it is in other regions, so the people who live there can charge much higher rates for their truffles, which coupled with the overall number of buyers increasing 10% within the last few years, has helped boost the small town’s economy. Moreover, the town also generates revenue as a gastronomic tourist’s stop for those who want to explore places for their gastronomical significance. Thus, it is displayed that truffles not only play a significant cultural role, they also play an important role in helping economies. Overall, truffle hunting is a unique cultural phenomenon that once began in Europe, but has since spread to many other countries due to a larger demand, and that reveals many cultural and economic nuances from an anthropological point of view. 

4. Economics of the Truffle

The cultivation, accessibility, and dissemination of the truffle is a fascinating portion of the journey of the truffle, and an important part of further understanding the cultural and economic impact that a single ingredient can make. Cultivating the truffle has been an issue that has plagued truffle enthusiasts for centuries, as they require very specific conditions to grow, such as specific soil pH levels and soil nutrients that are difficult to replicate (Benucci). In spite of this, modern technology has made it possible for truffles to be grown in other regions where they are not native, though often these endeavors are not successful. For example, though black truffles can theoretically now be grown in Australia, the abundance of sporocarps growing near the soil surface in irrigated plantations leave the truffles more susceptible to pests, diseases, and frost (Reyna). Furthermore, black truffles can also theoretically be grown in the Mediterranean, though a major issue for this environment is climate change because increase in temperature and increase in variability in rainfall can be harmful to the development of the truffles (Reyna). The excitement around the possibility of cultivating truffles shows that truffles are so important both culturally and economically, that people are willing to do intensive research into figuring out how to successfully cultivate them in other locations. Beyond their cultivation, accessibility has also become an issue that technology can address, which is what the Urbani truffles company aimed to do when they were founded in 1852 (Rengenier). In an attempt to better package and distribute truffles across the globe, the Urbani family discovered that using boiling tins and hermetically sealing the cans would preserve optimal flavor, which is now standard for storing truffles (Rengenier). Despite all this, truffles are still very finicky and the Urbani process is far from being industrialized, with the only true mechanized step in the operation being the sterilization and packaging part (Rengenier). This further supports the idea that truffles are culturally and economically significant, since entire businesses are centered around attempts to make truffles more accessible to the popular masses, despite their historically being reserved for the wealthy. The dissemination of truffles is an incredibly unique scenario that most other ingredients could not boast to have. In New York City, for example, one truffle salesman drives around the city and solicits fine dining restaurants where he strives to sell his tens of thousands of dollars worth of truffles, all from the trunk of his car (NPR). In Richerendes, a city in France which has the largest truffle market, ten to twenty tons of truffles are traded annually throughout the months of November to March, where trading will take place on two separate streets, with one street being for regular consumers, and the other being reserved only for professional buyers (CNBC). Even bought in bulk, truffles do not experience economies of scale, so they are the same price no matter what quantity they are purchased in (CNBC). Both of these cases in New York City and Richerendes are prime examples of why truffles are both unique and significant, since few other ingredients do not experience economies of scale and no other ingredient is sold in the same manner of truffles out of the trunk of a truffle dealer’s car. Ultimately, truffles are so culturally and economically important that a considerable effort is made into cultivating them, making them accessible, and actually bringing them to market.

5. Uses for Truffles

Truffles have many interesting uses beyond the dishes that they generally adorn, and much of this is due to their distinctive scientific qualities. After extensive research, the aromatic composition of truffles were found to include 36 volatile organic compounds that gave them their unique aroma, though the specific compounds do range from truffle to truffle, which is why they do not all taste or smell the same (Biochemical Properties). Furthermore, studies on truffles also demonstrated that they are rich in compounds that gives them anti-inflammatory antioxidant and antimutagenic properties, as well as have an abundance of proteins, fats, fatty acids, essential amino acids, carbs, and many other components of nutritional value (Biochemical Properties). Understanding the scientific makeup behind the truffle helps to highlight why truffles have such a value placed on them, because though their value is societally invented, it is still given to them for a reason. Truffles have been used for centuries in many different dishes because of their special flavoring properties. The classic way that truffles were prepared in the Roman Empire was to, “Scrape [brush] the truffles, parboil, sprinkle with salt, put several of them on a skewer, half fry them; then place them in a saucepan with oil, broth, reduced wine, wine, pepper and honey”, while other recipes called for specific pairings to go with the truffles, like camel’s milk (Nowack). Other interesting recipes that have been made with truffles include a method from the 17th century where they were prepared with ash, or truffle ice cream (Nowack). One of the most common ways truffles are served in the modern era though is with pasta, and generally no sauce is used as this would take away from the experience of the truffle (Nowack). The many creative ways that truffles have been used historically and are still used today illustrates society’s persistent love of truffles, emphasizing how they are culturally and economically significant as an ingredient. Truffles have also been employed for other purposes besides as an ingredient for food, with some of these utilizations being in medicinal and vitality products, biosynthetically created silver nanoparticles, and in cosmetic commodities like perfumes (Thomas). Therefore, though truffles play an important role economically due to their unique method of being traded, they can also play an economic role as an ingredient in other substances due to their other applications beyond food. Fundamentally, truffles have become the cultural and economic icons of the food industry that they are today because of their unique flavoring, a flavoring that is attributed to their scientific makeup, which in turn has also made them useful in other fields apart from culinary undertakings.

6. Conclusion 

Ultimately, truffles find themselves at the epicenter of a cultural and economic frenzy as one of the most sought after ingredients in luxury dishes. Though the places and methods behind truffle hunting have changed throughout the centuries, their economic influence on the world is still as strong as ever in an age where cultivation of these elusive fungi can finally become possible. Overall, their cultural and economic significance is one that offers a unique perspective, with the hunting, economics, and uses of truffles all offering an overarching analysis into the sentiment behind luxury food items. These items are significant in understanding food symbolism and, more broadly, anthropology in general. An incredible ingredient that has puzzled botanists and naturalists since ancient times, the truffle still remains an enigma for many, though perhaps in the modern age this is a food riddle that can be answered soon.

Works Cited

1. Benucci, G.M.N., Bonito, G., Falini, L.B., Bencivenga, M., Donnini, D. (2012). Truffles, Timber, Food, and Fuel: Sustainable Approaches for Multi-cropping Truffles and Economically Important Plants. In: Zambonelli, A., Bonito, G. (eds) Edible Ectomycorrhizal Mushrooms. Soil Biology, vol 34. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-33823-6_15

2. (PDF) Biochemical Properties, Biological Activities and Usage Of ..., www.researchgate.net/publication/328738891_Biochemical_Properties_Biological_Activities_and_Usage_of_Truffles. Accessed 16 Feb. 2024. 

3. Chen, Evelyn, contributor. “There’s a Good Chance the Black Truffle on Your Plate Was Purchased from the Trunk of a Car.” CNBC, CNBC, 7 Feb. 2020, www.cnbc.com/2020/02/07/buying-truffles-at-richerenches-frances-largest-black-truffle-market.html. 

4. Colás, Alejandro et al. (eds). "Chapter 3" in Food, politics, and society: Social theory and the modern food system. Univ of California Press, 2018.

5. “Episode 733: A Trunk Full of Truffles.” NPR, NPR, 5 Nov. 2016, www.npr.org/sections/money/2016/11/04/500726210/episode-733-a-trunk-full-of-truffles. 

6. Lloyd, C. G. “The Truffle Industry of Italy.” Mycologia, vol. 15, no. 5, 1923, pp. 236–38. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.2307/3753538. Accessed 16 Feb. 2024.

7. Looy, H., Dunkel, F.V. and Wood, J.R., 2014.“How then shall we eat? Insect- Eating attitudes and sustainable foodways.”Agriculture and human values ,31(1), pp.131-141

8. Nowak, Zachary. Truffle: A Global History. Reaktion Books, 2015.

9. Rengenier c. rittersma. “Industrialized Delicacies: The Rise of the Umbrian Truffle Business.” Gastronomica, vol. 12, no. 3, 2012, pp. 87–93. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.1525/gfc.2012.12.3.87. Accessed 16 Feb. 2024.

10. Renowden, gareth. “Truffle Wars.” Gastronomica, vol. 8, no. 4, 2008, pp. 46–50. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.1525/gfc.2008.8.4.46. Accessed 16 Feb. 2024.

11. Reyna, S., and S. Garcia-Barreda. “Black Truffle Cultivation: A Global Reality”. Forest Systems, Vol. 23, no. 2, Aug. 2014, pp. 317-28, doi:10.5424/fs/2014232-04771.

12. Thomas et al.  Industrial Applications of Truffles and Truffle-like Fungi https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Waill-Elkhateeb/publication/351009888_Industrial_Applications_of_Truffles_and_Truffle-like_Fungi/links/60804146907dcf667bb597d3/Industrial-Applications-of-Truffles-and-Truffle-like-Fungi.pdf Accessed 22 Feb. 2024. 

13. Full Article: Truffle Gathering and Trade in the Monti Sicani ..., www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/11263504.2020.1845843. Accessed 16 Feb. 2024.