Emmmmyyyyy!” The call rings out among the rows of wizened white and green oak trees. Emy, a chalk-coloured teddy-bear of a dog, looks back at her owner, hesitates for a moment, then scampers on. She’s on important business, hunting for truffles, the “black diamonds” from this part of France. Of Europe’s 32 truffle varieties, these nubbly spheres – known variously as Périgord truffles, tuber melanosporum or, in the local Provençal dialect, rabasse – are second only to the rare white Alba truffle in quality, scarcity and price.
Think of Provence and the vivid flavours of a Mediterranean summer come to mind: grassy olive oil, peppery basil, sun-ripened tomatoes. But the pungent, musky truffle, the taste of deepest mid-winter, is just as characteristic of southern France.
It’s July, months before the…
