This month MSL is delighted to have contributed to the Sheffield Lord Mayor’s Charity Dinner, organized by city councillor Ray Satur. We provided several free truffle trees to be auctioned to raise money for the charity, although it turned out that Ray had other plans.

In rural Hampshire, our expert dog trainer Marion Dean has been busy crafting a new resource for would-be truffle hunters and farmers alike. Compiled from footage taken throughout 2009, the DVD aims to show how much care must be taken when harvesting truffles to prevent any damage to the valuable fungi, their mycorrhizal growth and the trees supporting them. With plenty of footage of truffle harvesting, you can also gain an insight into Marion’s style of teaching.

Anosmia is a condition that hampers the sufferer’s sense of taste. Whilst total anosmia is extremely rare, partial anosmia, the inability to taste a small number of specific flavours, is actually quite common. Amazingly, up to 30% of the population cannot detect androstenone, which is one of the chemicals used in scent-based truffle hunting. There are a whole host of factors that contribute to the truffle scent, so even if you can’t detect androstenone you can still enjoy truffles, but it does perhaps help to explain why peoples’ interpretation of the truffle does tend to vary.

Our first Newspaper article of 2010 appeared in the Telegraph business supplement and can be read by clicking here. Several more truffle-based articles are being prepared for publication and we will be displaying details here and in the newsletter.