Bulgarian Truffles
Historical Aspect & Traditions
Bulgarian truffles are not very popular, even though they grow in the whole country. Truffles were left out of our cuisine for many reasons. First of all, they grow hidden in the soil and were hard to be located. The only way to find them was with the help of truffle hogs (domestic pigs). Not only that, but they are also hard to cultivate. This means that they are also hard to gather in larger quantities. At the same time, the weather conditions and the soil in the country are perfect for cultivating big variety of agricultural crops. These crops were preferred and furthermore sufficient to feed the local population. So they slowly become part of the local cuisine unlike truffles.
Current Situation & Truffle Hunting
Nowadays people realize that truffles are one of the most expensive and luxury goods, that can be gathered in Bulgaria. Moreover edible truffles grow in almost all parts of the country all year round. For this reason, many people have started picking truffles in the wild. At the present time, they do not use pigs to locate truffles. It is much easier to train dogs for this purpose. That is why today there are many truffle hunters, walking through woodlands and forests and picking tons of truffles every year.
Bulgarian Truffles – Quality & Market
In addition, the quality of Bulgarian truffles is comparable to the best Italian ones. For that reason, the demand of our truffles is slowly growing on the world market. Currently, all truffles, that are gathered in the country, are exported. Italy is one of the main importers of Bulgarian truffles. Since they are unable to satisfy the high demand of Italian truffles on the world market with local production, they are selecting and importing foreign production with competitive quality. Other importers of Bulgarian truffles are United Kingdom, Germany, Canada and others.
In summing up it can be said that Bulgaria is currently on its way to introduce Bulgarian truffles to the world. Moreover the country is about to start a new long term tradition in truffle gathering.
Read more about the truffle varieties, that grow in Bulgaria.
Contact us or check our shop for available fresh truffles. They will be gathered for you on your request.
