NZ and Aus truffle season starts

Good news from over the hill - the first truffles of the 2007 Canterbury truffle season are being harvested. Nothing at Limestone Hills yet (but we're looking). It's an early start - last year fully ripe truffles didn't appear until the end of June, so there must be something in the cool spring/summer and dry warm autumn we've had. I won't mention climate change. Harvest is also under way in Western Australia, where Nick Malajczuk is expecting to get upwards of 400kg this year. WA is also planning its first truffle festival - 1-5 August at Mundaring. Copies of The Truffle Book will be available... And if you want to read more, the current of issue of NZ Geographic features an article of mine on truffles (follow that link to see an excellent truffle dive executed by Gavin, the trufficulteur from over the hill). The next will include one on climate change.

Thursday, May 31, 2007 5:59 pm (permalink)

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The Truffle Book

Winner of the Special Jury Award at the Gourmand World Cookbook Awards. "Absolutely rivetting" - a well-known prince. Available as softback, limited edition hardback, and PDF. Free sample PDF.

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current reading

It's taking me far too long to read this. I have been a fan of Pynchon since reading Gravity's Rainbow as a student. Against The Day strikes me as one of his most approachable novels, full of fantastic characters and wild invention, but I've been busy doing word things, and sometimes the last thing I want to do is read. But this is like fine wine, keeps tempting me to another glass. At 1085 pages, I'll be squiffy before I'm finished.

just read

I've read two books called Heat in the last month. One was damn scary, and one was by George Monbiot, about global warming (which has a fantastic cover). Some would say I've been and gone and had my mid-life crisis, but it didn't involve doing an apprenticeship at the altar of real Italian cuisine and a tyrannical chef. Bill Buford is not me, and for that I'm grateful. I suspect he may be too. I enjoyed it - the kitchen stuff was pretty compelling (as was the Italian butcher I may just have to visit next time I'm on Italian truffle time), but somehow the whole thing didn't hang together. I know where Bill's coming from - and I can sort of sense where he went - but his own motivation (and his family's reaction) remain mysterious.