Case studies tagged with truffles

Trufforum® is an international event created by the The "European Mycological Institute" (EGTC-EMI) with the aim of promoting the responsible use of the Tuber melanosporum in homes and restaurants to educate consumers on:

a) Origins of the black truffle in Europe

b) Species of edible truffles

c) The organoleptic differences between black truffles and synthetic aromas.

d) The importance of quality control to avoid fraud.

e) The most appropriate modes of use in gastronomy

f) Tourism in the European truffle territories

Enhancement of Croatian forest ecosystem services through assessment of fungal diversity based on DNA barcoding is a four-year project financed by the Croatian Science Foundation with the objective of exploring fungal diversity of Croatian forests through the DNA barcoding methods, aimed to analyze its impact on forest ecosystem services. Research institute ‘Ruđer Bošković’ from Zagreb, Croatia is the lead partner on this project that started in October, 2018.

Greece is a country with dramatic geological relief which makes it one of the richest in biodiversity and habitat types countries in Europe. So far over 100 fungal species with below ground fruitbodies have been discovered in Greece, among them 13 new species for Science, confirming high diversity also in fungi. As we have just began to explore fungi with subterranean fruiting bodies, we are confident that many new species will be recorded in Greece in the near future. The protection of forest ecosystems is vital for hypogeous fungi, such as valuable truffles' conservation.

The aim is to map the potentiality of the black truffle production based on the current scientific knowledge already available. To do this, a truffle potential level is assigned to each point of the territory covered with forests. This must eventually allow managers to determine the level of investment in rehabilitating formerly truffle land based on expected potential production.

In the last 15 years, there has been a strong interest in truffles in Greece due to high market prices and the ability to cultivate them. In most truffle plantations in Greece, however, the seedlings come from European countries such as Italy, France and Spain, since there is no domestic production. Taking into consideration the issues of imported plant’s adaptability, biodiversity protection and the risk of introducing unwdesired truffle species, we attempted to create the first Greek truffle trees with Tuber aestivum and T. melanosporum in Greek forest species such as oaks, hazelnuts,...

In 2005, Kanela & Garyfallo was founded in the village of Vitsa, in the mountainous region of Zagori in NW Greece, as a thematic restaurant specializing in edible mushrooms. Considering that Greece is a country where mushrooms are considered largely unsafe and / or unsavory, this was a bold move. The objective difficulties in turning this bold move to a success story were acknowledged from the start and the proprietor set out as his objective to educate the public and rely on the positive personal experience of his clients to overcome prejudice and recognize the value of an important...

In Italy, the collection of truffles is considered a professional activity mainly for “males”. The “Lady Truffle” initiative, founded by Elisa Ioni, sales manager of a renowned Umbrian truffle company, aims to unhinge this tradition, promoting the hobby of truffle hunting among women, and, in some cases, supporting the transformation of this hobby in a real profession.

The objectives of the Krka National Park hypogeous fungi research project are: (1) To determine the diversity of hypogeous macro-fungi in forest ecosystems of the Krka National Park, (2) To identify collected hypogeous fungi samples to species level by morphological and molecular methods, (3) To determine relationships between fungi, plants, soil, geological background, climatic and other significant ecological factors in the studied habitat, (4) Develop material for an educational trail, (5) Develop materials for holding thematic workshops on fungi in the Krka National Park.

PragueTruffle aims to diversify the tourism offer in Prague, which represents one of the most famous tourist destinations around the world. The initiative provides a truffle (species: Tuber aestivum) hunting demonstration (with a dog) in the Petřín Park, that offers one of the best views of Old Town Prague. In addition to this experience,  PragueTruffle customers receive contextual information about truffles as well as about Prague history, followed by a truffle dish in a luxury restaurant with a gorgeous view of Prague.  At the end, the clients can take a fresh truffle as a gift...

Croatia is a world famous destination for its truffle collection in wild and the truffle sector is well developed. However, although Croatia is a small country, truffle production is in fact concentrated only in the Istrian region and has not been developed in the rest of the country. In other parts of the country, very few people are involved in collecting truffles (summer truffles) and this is actually more of a hobby for them than a source of income. Therefore, it was important to conduct a survey to determine where summer truffle could be found and in what quantities, and the results...

The European Union defines, through several documents, the cultivation and collection of mushrooms and truffles as the primary product in agriculture. There are a number of measures in place in Croatia to encourage primary agricultural production, but truffle farming is not one of them. In order to offer the rural parts of Croatia new economic activity, which can be extremely profitable, it is necessary to draw up a plan for the implementation of the European Directive and to adapt the relevant laws on the basis of professional and scientific research.