A truffle hog is any

domestic pig The pig (''Sus domesticus''), also called swine (: swine) or hog, is an omnivorous, domesticated, even-toed, hoofed mammal. It is named the domestic pig when distinguishing it from other members of the genus '' Sus''. Some authorities cons ...

used for locating and extracting the fruit bodies of the fungi known as

truffle A truffle is the Sporocarp (fungi), fruiting body of a subterranean ascomycete fungus, one of the species of the genus ''Tuber (fungus), Tuber''. More than one hundred other genera of fungi are classified as truffles including ''Geopora'', ''P ...

s from

temperate forest A temperate forest is a forest found between the tropical and boreal regions, located in the temperate zone. It is the second largest terrestrial biome, covering 25% of the world's forest area, only behind the boreal forest, which covers about 3 ...

s in

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

and North America. Pigs have an exceptional sense of smell, and are able to identify truffles as deep as three feet underground. It was thought that the natural sex hormone androstenol of the male pig, which is also found in truffles, was responsible for this ability; however this has been proven false, as the molecule

dimethyl sulfide Dimethyl sulfide (DMS) or methylthiomethane is an organosulfur compound with the formula . It is the simplest thioether and has a characteristic disagreeable odor. It is a flammable liquid that boils at . It is a component of the smell produc ...

was shown to signal instead. Pigs also have a natural affinity for rooting in the earth for food. They are trained to hunt truffles by walking on a leash through suitable groves with a keeper.

History

The use of pigs to hunt truffles is said to date back to the

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ruled the Mediterranean and much of Europe, Western Asia and North Africa. The Roman people, Romans conquered most of this during the Roman Republic, Republic, and it was ruled by emperors following Octavian's assumption of ...

, but the first well-documented use comes from the Italian

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...

writer and gastronomist, Bartolomeo Platina, in the 15th century. Later references to truffle pigs include

John Ray John Ray Fellow of the Royal Society, FRS (November 29, 1627 – January 17, 1705) was a Christian England, English Natural history, naturalist widely regarded as one of the earliest of the English parson-naturalists. Until 1670, he wrote his ...

in the 17th century. In 1875, a truffle hog could cost up to 200 francs. A skilled truffler could more than make up for this investment from the high price of truffles on the gourmet food market. In

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

, the use of pigs in truffle hunting has been prohibited since 1985, as the animals can cause damage to the

mycelia Mycelium (: mycelia) is a root-like structure of a fungus consisting of a mass of branching, thread-like hyphae. Its normal form is that of branched, slender, entangled, anastomosing, hyaline threads. Fungal colonies composed of mycelium are fo ...

of truffles while digging, reducing the production rate for a number of years.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Truffle Hog Pigs Working animals Truffles (fungi)

History

See also

References