Into the white truffle season we go

WHITE truffle season is back again, but this time, things are looking up. Following last year's disappointing harvest, this year has started off promisingly for those in the truffle business. "The seasons are not as regular like they were in the past, because the weather is quite crazy. But this year's truffle will be cheaper than last year, maybe slightly above half of last year's price," says Francesco Marconi, who runs Trifola Pte Ltd, a truffle distribution company based in Singapore.

White truffle can be found in different parts of Italy, some areas of France, and certain countries in Eastern Europe like Yugoslavia and Croatia among others. However, it is the ones from a small town called Alba in Piedmont, Italy that have the best reputation for its aroma and quality. Restaurants can purchase the Alba white truffle for about $5,000 to $7,000 per kilogram this year, compared to last year's high of $10,000 to $13,000. The price range depends on the quality and size of the truffles, as larger specimens are considered rare and can command a higher price per kilogram. These current figures are nowhere near fixed, as they may fluctuate according to the weather patterns in Italy as the season progresses. If the country sees heavy rains in the weeks to come, the ground could become too wet for the truffle hunters' dogs to sniff out the truffle's rich…