A huge truffle, an Italian delicacy, has fetched a record breaking price in an auction.
How much would you pay for a fungus? Well a Hong Kong billionaire has just paid over £160,000 ($330,000) for a particularly ugly one that was still encrusted with soil. Of course, this was no ordinary fungus – it was that king among fungi, a white truffle.
The truffle, which weighs 1.5 kg (3.3lbs) and is the largest ever found, was sniffed out by a dog named Rocco in woodlands in Tuscany. His owner, truffle hunter Cristiano Savini, spent over 2 hours digging it up carefully. It was auctioned in an international event, which saw three venues linked by satellite: the Grand Lisboa hotel in Macao, the Palazzo Medici in Florence, and Girogio Locatelli’s Refettorio in London.
White truffles have become increasingly rare, as they require a particularly clean environment in which to grow. The dry summer has also heightened their rarity – and they are so precious and so prized by chefs and gourmets – that they have been nicknamed ‘white gold’. However some don’t always appreciate their value. A few years ago, staff at a London restaurant forget all about an enormous white truffle – and left it to go mouldy. Well, it had only cost nearly £30,000.
If you fancy finding your own nugget, then you can always try a truffle hunting holiday.
