Truffles — from Legend to Science

The truffle owes its fame as much to the poet as the cook. Myth, the process by which our ancestors explained the inexplicable, combined with reality to produce — well — a reputation. Which is just as well for the truffle’s prospects as a foodstuff, since it’s hard to find, unreliable in cropping, almost impossible to cultivate, and delivers scarcely enough nourishment to satisfy a dormouse.