Where in the World Do Truffles Grow?

24 Nov 2016, by Susan Alexander Truffles in Truffle Faves

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Me, taking advantage of the nice weather and inspecting the trees!

Truffles are a very unique and sought-after ingredient in the culinary world. Their species is extremely diverse, and they thrive in specific environments around the globe. We know that different species of truffles partner with a favoured species of tree. Throw in the right stable climate where winters are cool and wet, and summers warm and dry, and you have the perfect habitat for growing truffles. So where in the world do all the truffle-growing stars align?

Where you’ll most likely find truffles

Firstly, you’ll need to find where truffle-supporting trees grow, these trees include pines, oaks, hazel nut trees, birches, beeches, eucalyptus, and firs. Technically this could be just about any country in the world, however is most likely to be North America, Europe, and Australia where the trees grow naturally. Truffles particularly like the soils within the Mediterranean regions of Europe, and the west of North America.

Found one!

Countries which are known to produce the most truffles include Australia, Italy, France, China, USA, Netherlands, Poland, Spain, Iran, Canada, and the UK. Australia is producing more truffles each year, hot on the tail of the world’s top 10 producers.

Wondering how truffles grow? Truffles tend to grow right after heavy rains, when the soil is damp. They grow in similar conditions to other fungi, where they shy away from extreme heat and freezing environments, preferring a stable temperature and good drainage. Truffles grow during the same season which their partner tree species grows too, and often mature over a number of years. The effort and time it takes to produce one truffle, alongside the difficultly it takes to find them, makes them a very sought after commodity around the world.

If you’d like to find out the latest information about the world of truffles, check out the Susan Alexander Truffles blog section here.