December 18, 2004

A tragedy in the fungi world.
posted by Zanshin 20 years ago
  • They placed it on display, instead of eating it right away. Such a ker-fuffle over a truffle.
  • I would love to see this as an opera. Libretto by Beeswacky, music composed by Giacomo Puccini.
  • It's hard for me to think of truffles without thinking of that girl in Peanuts who used to bother Snoopy and insist he go truffle-hunting.
  • oh my god! never has my mouth watered to such a degree! i almost drowned...what a tasty looking monster...i heart truffles 4ever n ever....every time i go to the fancy grocery store...i stare at them in the case until someone comes over and i ask...how much is this one?...uh-huh...and this one?...wow,really?...and this one?...when i was about 11 i had a seafood bisque with truffle in new orleans which i can still remember the taste of over 20 years later and I WANT MORE! not that that's the only truffle ive eaten, mind you...just the best...the seafood selection was like a trip to an aquarium...
  • Truffles is the new crack?
  • My dream job is truffle hunter. Just wonder around the woods with my pig, looking for mushrooms underground, what a sweet gig.
  • For some reason this is a pet peeve of mine, but "fungus" isn't from Latin, but from Greek, so the plural in English should be "fungoi". Textbooks and sometimes dictionaries get this wrong all the damn time. Same with cactus (cactodes), octopus (octopodes), and many others. I suppose it's too ingrained to be correctable, now. *sigh* sexyrobot, do you remember which restaurant you had that seafood bisque in? I'm in NO and it sounds wonderful!
  • mmm...octopode with fungoi sauce...
  • Europeans bury their food? That's how they stay so thin...
  • but "fungus" isn't from Latin, but from Greek The OED disagrees with you. From the Latin, an assumed Greek cognate of spongos.
  • goetter, it's a bone of contention among etymologists from what I understand. An ancient Greek dictionary I consulted a while ago disagreed with the OED, so who really knows, I guess.
  • fatoudust: What the hell are you talking about? Where did you get the idea fungus was Greek? It's Latin on the face of it, and it's a perfectly regular 2nd-declension noun: fungus, fungi. So is kaktos; Epicharmus uses the plural kaktoi. And although the plural of oktapous (note the spelling in Greek) should theoretically be oktapodes, in practice the Greeks were very uncertain about this kind of noun and often treated them as 2nd declension (see here). If you're not joking about your peeves, the joke's on you. Anyway, great story! I love this: When the truffle experts of Florence heard about the unhappy fate of their most precious truffle, they asked for its return and organised a solemn burial. It was set to take place in the grounds of an historic castle built by the Medici, former rulers of Florence, after the truffle's remains were brought back by Mr Cassini. After a farewell poem, the truffle is being solemnly re-interred not far from where it was originally found. The hope is that it will regenerate and produce another monster truffle next year.
  • fatoudust: Hadn't seen your second comment before I posted; I guess you weren't joking.
  • After a farewell poem, the truffle is being solemnly re-interred not far from where it was originally found Major monkey-points to anybody who can find a copy of this poem.
  • So how should truffles be properly stored, and why on earth didn't that happen? I love the solemnity with which this is being treated...
  • Actually you're all wrong. 'Fungus' is a noun in present-day English; 'fungi' is its plural. What should govern spelling, etymological arcana or usage by native speakers?
  • "This was the Pope of all truffles..." - Enzo Cassini, manager of Zafferano This truffle seems to have had two burials - one in the chef's garden in the UK, and perhaps after a disinterment, the second one at the historic Italian castle.
  • Has anyone eaten truffle and can describe its taste?
  • fuyugare is absolutely right, of course; I was just addressing the issue of its classical plural.
  • monkeyfilter: The hope is that it will regenerate and produce another monster truffle next year
  • Alex, they taste a lot like chicken. Seriously, they taste like truffles. You don't need to go out and spend a ton of money to see what they taste like. Go to a high end gourmet store and purchase some truffle oil. It's olive oil infused with truffles. Both the white and the black truffle are delicious, but the white has a more disinct flavor. Even as I still do not get the big deal over caviar, truffles and foie gras rock my world.
  • Brillat-Savarin: "the truffle, though not a positive aphrodisiac, can under certain circumstances render men more gallant and women more amiable"
  • Thanks, squidranch. Will give this particular mushroom a try.
  • We don't buy truffles often, but theyt are a real treat when we do. As squidranch mentioned, truffle oil will lend the desired taste much more cheaply, and we always keep a bottle of it on hand. Two fungi I've discovered since moving to Toronto: morel mushrooms and puffballs. Both are wild, easily identifiable and delicious. Puffballs are especially weird in appearance, but singular in taste - nutty and light and they become ambrosia when sliced thinly and fried for a few seconds in some butter.
  • ...easily identifiable... Careful with those Morels, they could be False Morels, which are somewhat poisonous, and the Puffballs might be immature Amanitas, some of which are among the few things in nature that can kill you with just a small taste. I'm not saying that you can't tell the differences but just to be aware that even the "easiest" mushrooms can be mistaken for others. So be careful. Another mushroom I think is even easier to identify and is common and widespread and is, to me, the most delicious of them all, is the Chanterelle. But again, be careful.
  • Thanks, timefactor. I don't eat anything that hasn't been officially approved by one of my relatives (and since he's the one who always takes us mushroom-hunting, I'm still alive). He's a botanist who focuses on fungus, so I feel safe. Chantrelles are good, but I don't know if they grow near me. The local market always has them, though, and they're not too expensive.
  • fuygare and languagehat: You're both right. Of course the way a people use the language is of course ALWAYS correct. With etymology there are frequently several "correct" answers and I was a bit flip in my first comment. If I hadn't been in a hurry I would have explained that "fungi" comes from Latin sources, derived from the Greek, while the core root of the word as originally introduced into the scientific lexicon comes more from the Greek and Aristotle, so "fungoi" would more properly reflect where the word actually came to influence English. I *did* try to flag it "needlessly pedantic" but I should have mentioned exceptions. :) Got in a hurry, so apologies. Anyway, with English, adding -s/-es is almost always "correct" so "funguses" is absolutely fine since we're not actually speaking ancient Greek or Latin! Still want to try some seafood truffle bisque...
  • Dear little truffle, come with me, let us unite for all eternity -- we two shall all the pleasures prove twixt mortal man and fungus love.
  • Judging by the picture, the horse stables next door are filled with "truffles." I'll gladly sell anymonkey a couple, at a mere, say... $3,000 a pair.
  • I get truffles from the black market. They're called Fungez.
  • Oooh! After a slight googling, I think it's being buried in San Miniato, the Home of the Truffle. That's about a hour on the bus from my house. If the monkey massive can find the exact location, I'd be happy to go and take a picture of the final resting place. Y'know: pay our respects.
  • DangerIsMyMiddleName, the return of the defunct truffle seems to have been requested by either the Truffle Hunters of the San Miniato Hills Association or else by the San Miniato council, depending on the article ones reads. Perhaps inquiry via San Miniato might produce results for you.
  • Platypodes. That is all.
  • Oh the decadence of Western civilisation!
  • Well, I tried, but I can't figure out which castle is "an historic castle built by the Medici, former rulers of Florence." It sounds like those Medici guys had more than one.
  • A platypus, as I suppose, is rather smaller than a moose. And has more toes. O platypussy, water's daughter don't be too fussy -- disport yourself just like ye otter.