Truffles
You may have noticed more truffle-infused products and dishes popping up on menus and store shelves lately. Truffles are fragrant mushroom-like fungi that are difficult to cultivate and whose locations are highly guarded secrets. “Truffle product sales like truffle oil and truffle salt are up 10 percent from last year,” says Lily Hodge, public relations director of D’Artagnan, an online purveyor of gourmet foods. The prized Alba White truffles, which are available only a few months out of the year in a remote part of Italy and must be foraged by special pigs, are selling for about $3,000-$3,500 per pound.
