A Walk In The Woods
France|January 2017

On a chilly morning in Périgord, Heidi Fuller-Love hunts for truffles with one of the last caveurs to use a pig.

Heidi Fuller-Love
A Walk In The Woods

Tall and agile with iron-grey hair, Daniel Chaume is waiting for me outside his 17th-century Périgord farmhouse in the forest near the pretty town of Mareuil-sur-Belle. As we head for the stables where Daniel keeps his prize truffle sows, he tells me that in his grandfather’s day, truffles were so common in Périgord that even the poorest households had them for breakfast, dinner and tea.

Like his grandfather, Daniel seeks out truffles with the help of a pig; unlike his grandfather, who was one of many, Daniel is now one of the last caveurs in France to use a truffle sow.

“In the 19th century, France had hundreds of truffle plantations, but when World War I came, so many men went to fight and never came back, and most of the plantations were abandoned,” he says. 

Before the 1914-18 war, France was producing 2,000 tons of truffles per year, but that figure had dropped to 40 tons by World War II. Later, truffles were imported from Spain, Italy and even China to meet demand.

Dubbed La Belle Ténébreuse (the mysterious beauty) by 19th-century gastronome Brillat-Savarin, there are at least 50 truffle varieties worldwide, but the black melanosporum and the white Italian magnatum are the most prized by gourmets. Their origins remained a mystery until the 19th century when scientists discovered that truffles grew underground in symbiotic association with the roots of certain trees, including oak and hazelnut. This led to experiments in inoculating tree roots with truffle spores.

Denne historien er fra January 2017-utgaven av France.

Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.

Denne historien er fra January 2017-utgaven av France.

Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.

FLERE HISTORIER FRA FRANCESe alt
Paindemic In Paris
France

Paindemic In Paris

For American actor and writer Alexander Burnett, a shortage of bread at his local boulangerie was one of the biggest challenges of lockdown in his adopted home city

time-read
5 mins  |
December 2020
VEULES-LES-ROSES
France

VEULES-LES-ROSES

Between the white cliffs of the Côte d’Albâtre and the bucolic landscapes of the Pays de Caux, discover a village that combines coast and country,

time-read
4 mins  |
December 2020
Taking the BISCUIT
France

Taking the BISCUIT

France is known for its exquisite pâtisserie and extravagant gâteaux but the not-so-humble biscuit deserves recognition too

time-read
5 mins  |
December 2020
PICTURE PERFECT PISTE
France

PICTURE PERFECT PISTE

After a decade away from the slopes Janet Brice finds her ski legs in val d'arly, a hidden gem in the shadow of Mount Blanc

time-read
8 mins  |
December 2020
Let there BE LIGHT
France

Let there BE LIGHT

Lyon’s annual Fête des Lumières brightens up the darkest of December nights in spectacular fashion, finds David Atkinson on a winter visit to the Rhône capital

time-read
4 mins  |
December 2020
Shop ‘til YOU DROP
France

Shop ‘til YOU DROP

In the first of our new Insight guides, Helen Parkinson delights in the French shopping experience

time-read
4 mins  |
December 2020
Floating YOUR BOAT
France

Floating YOUR BOAT

Spending a day on the River Seine in Paris, Heidi Fuller-love samples some of the city’s top entertainment that can be enjoyed afloat

time-read
6 mins  |
December 2020
Creamy Dijon Chicken With Bacon And Spinach
France

Creamy Dijon Chicken With Bacon And Spinach

Enjoy this hearty dish from Bisous & Brioche, a cookbook shot on location in Burgundy

time-read
2 mins  |
November 2020
A Moveable Feast
France

A Moveable Feast

Philip Sweeney embarks on a voyage gourmand along the Vallée de la Gastronomie travelling from Dijon to Marseille

time-read
4 mins  |
November 2020
BOND RETOUR 7
France

BOND RETOUR 7

To celebrate the return of everyone’s favourite globe-trotting British intelligence officer in No Time to Die, Helen Parkinson rounds up five of James Bond’s top cross-Channel escapades

time-read
2 mins  |
November 2020