Well it’s that time of year again and by now you should be well in the midst of the Christmas shopping frenzy so hopefully this could help a few of you with Christmas present ideas. Our truffle-trees for gifts are supplied with full growing instructions and a gift certificate in attractive festive packaging, ready to be wrapped and put under the Christmas tree. As the truffle-trees are in their dormant state, they can happily remain in their card boxes and wrapped as a present until the New Year, if kept in a cool and dark place. You can order anytime through the shop.

Last month the first wild truffles were found in Cyprus by Sonia, the only truffle hunting dog in the country. The truffles were found in the Limassol and Paphos district of the island and were identified as the Summer Truffle by the mycological association. The summer truffle has a broad tolerance of temperatures and water levels and is found in the wild all over Europe, from the UK to North Africa and towards the end of last month MSL helped set up the first truffle plantation in Cyprus. All this truffley news is very exciting and hopefully

We are now taking shipments of fresh white truffles here at MSL and you can order any amount, from just 10g to several kilos. For the curious who would like to try one of the most expensive foods in the world, this is a great opportunity to try a sample from just £15 (for 10g). White truffles, Tuber magnatum, are one of the most expensive foods in the world and prices reached a record level of £10,000/Kg in 2004! White truffles currently cannot be cultivated (we’re working on it) so these are wild-harvested and of premium quality.

Recently pupils from Moncreiffe Primary School in Perth were digging up their vegetable patch and discovered a “mystery” truffle. Head teacher Karen Young said: “Children from one of the school gardening groups were harvesting their potatoes, onions and beans, when they dug up something they didn’t recognise.”