GOTLAND, Sweden—The black truffle, an expensive delicacy otherwise associated with France and Italy, can also found on an island in the Baltic Sea, and right now it is harvest time.
Gotland is Sweden’s largest island, located in the Baltic Sea and perhaps best known for the fact that Ingmar Bergman had a house on its northernmost part, Fårö. But in 1978, a variety of black truffle was discovered under the soil, closely related to the black truffle otherwise only known to grow in France, Spain and Italy.
When it was discovered on Gotland, the black truffle was considered endangered, but now it is successfully cultivated by truffle farmers. The exact locations of these truffle farms is a well-kept secret, which is not surprising, considering that black truffle brings in about $800 per pound.
It was Swedish botanist Christina Wedén who realized in the late 1990’s that truffle farming might be feasible on Gotland, and blind tests performed by French experts on these cultivated truffles showed that they were actually of the same quality as the revered French variety, according to the homepage of the Swedish Truffle Society.
Truffles grow underground and wild truffles are traditionally located by specially trained dogs or pigs. Normally, in Sweden, wild growing organisms such as berries or mushrooms can be picked by anyone, but since the truffles grow underground, they are considered the property of the land owner.
Nevertheless, Swedish tourists on Gotland can now pay for the privilege of going on a guided truffle safari, tracking down the precious lumps and then getting a lesson in how to use them in cooking.
People walk past a pile of black truffles during a truffle market in Jarnac, western France.Nicolas Tucat/AFP/Getty Images
Gotland is Sweden’s largest island, located in the Baltic Sea and perhaps best known for the fact that Ingmar Bergman had a house on its northernmost part, Fårö. But in 1978, a variety of black truffle was discovered under the soil, closely related to the black truffle otherwise only known to grow in France, Spain and Italy.
When it was discovered on Gotland, the black truffle was considered endangered, but now it is successfully cultivated by truffle farmers. The exact locations of these truffle farms is a well-kept secret, which is not surprising, considering that black truffle brings in about $800 per pound.
It was Swedish botanist Christina Wedén who realized in the late 1990’s that truffle farming might be feasible on Gotland, and blind tests performed by French experts on these cultivated truffles showed that they were actually of the same quality as the revered French variety, according to the homepage of the Swedish Truffle Society.
Truffles grow underground and wild truffles are traditionally located by specially trained dogs or pigs. Normally, in Sweden, wild growing organisms such as berries or mushrooms can be picked by anyone, but since the truffles grow underground, they are considered the property of the land owner.
Nevertheless, Swedish tourists on Gotland can now pay for the privilege of going on a guided truffle safari, tracking down the precious lumps and then getting a lesson in how to use them in cooking.
People walk past a pile of black truffles during a truffle market in Jarnac, western France.Nicolas Tucat/AFP/Getty Images
