Truffle Festival's Launch

Yesterday the Chef Minister of the ACT opened this years truffle festival. Although Macenmist Black Truffles & Wines started hunts on the June long weekend it is now official truffle time. The Mecure Hotel in Canberra used our truffle for the dishes that they served and at the Blessing of the Truffle Dogs the chef will also be using our truffle.  Yes we are blessed with early truffle. Its colder in this region than in the other growing districts of New South Wales so our season starts earlier and ends later. We also have hunts with truffle lunches and all day events planned for this year. So why not come and join us by booking on our website www.macenmist.com

Truffle Dog returns to good health

At long last Fahren has had her stitches out and no longer needs to wear the "Elizabethan collar" she is one happy dog and is now able to enjoy her work finding truffle and of course being amply rewarded. Thank you to the vet and staff for all their effort

Truffle Long Weekend

What an amazing way to end the long weekend. We had a visit from Iput Putri and Aaron Fishman from the East Bali Cashews company as they took in the food delights of Australia after attending a producers food festival in Sydney. Aaron would like Macenmist to investigate and produce a truffle cheese and truffle honey, both of which are some of his favourite truffle value-added  products. It was wonderful to spend a few hours with them at the end of the long weekend tasting good cheese, truffle, cashew kale not to mention the glass of wine or two. Many thanks to both of you for taking the time out to visit us and we hope to see you both again soon — hopefully you will be able to join us for one of our "all day" events where after lunch chef John will show you how to get the most from your truffle.

I would also like to share with you some of my weekend highlights.
The images will show you  how wonderful the truffle smells with people trying to guess the aroma that the truffle emits. Everyone reacts differently to its aromat — some love it — others are not too sure — unfortunately for them, there are some who do not enjoy it —  and then there are the children who are honest and will either tell that they hate or love the smell.
BUT
rather than judge an experience from my blog why not join us at one of Macenmist's events so that you can experience it first-hand.

This weekend we loved to see family enjoying themselves and here Mother, Father and Son enjoyed a day out this long weekend with Tawdiffu, one of our truffle dogs, who did not mind being photographed when they took an impromptu photo of the truffle that they had unearthed (with the dogs help of course).

After the hunt they partook in the cleaning and weighing of the harvested truffle.

Truffle Long Weekend

The truffle dogs just love the work that they do indicating where I can dig up fresh truffle. As a reward throughout the year I have been freezing various left over meats. For finding truffle the dogs now have a reward of: chicken, sausages, liver, beef steak, pork and tongue which they love. Some of it we have dried the rest is frozen. But both Fahren and Tawdiffu will sell their truffle find for a delicious treat. The dish above was found yesterday and Tawdiffu preferred the liver treats and was so anxious to get to them that she wanted to dig the truffle faster to ensure the treats were forthcoming. Hence one of the largest truffles that she found (around 300 grams) had a couple of claw marks in it.Now she is back on a leash so that her enthusiasm does not get the better of her.
This weekend is a long weekend in Australia and our public truffle hunt events commence on Saturday and continue each weekend till the close of the truffle season in early September. All of our events feature truffle tasting in some way. This years luncheon menu features as a first course:Tomato bisque with truffled coconut foam and rosemary croutons. While having your lunch you may also wish to have a glass of Macenmist's homemade gluhwein to accompany it. 
Then its onto the main course which has two truffle features:the first being the cous cous which is coated in truffled butter and the second treasure is the Perigueux sauce —which is to die for!!

Then when you think that you have no more room in your stomach you are offered dessert. YES — you managed to squeeze room because it looks truffle delicious and it tastes delicious as well. You are served "truffled cheesecake on chocolate blancmange with cubes of rhubarb gel and cream drizzle.

For the love of truffle and its flavour we endure adverse climatic conditions and venture out in snow, sleet, light rain and hopefully sunny days just to harvest these beauties. They may seem excessively expensive but if used correctly, your dollar goes a long way.

Truffle Dog Hunting update

Two truffle dogs keeping each other comforted. Its a week today that Fahren's stitches can be removed. This long weekend she will not be taking guests out hunting for truffle. Tawdiffu will be staring on all three days Later today when its time to go truffle hunting again I will remove Fahren's collar so that she can enjoy herself for a short while. Then the collar will have to go back on so that she does not remove the stitches prematurely.

Yesterday, just as the cold fog was clearing Tawdiffu and I went in search for truffle so that the alpine region would be able to serve truffle during the long weekend. She was quite the little harvester with two new trees producing truffle for the first time. One in the plantation planted in 2012 and the other in the main plantation planted in 2008. The smell of truffle wafts our kitchen currently as they are cleaned of dirt ready for dispatch.
As we now have truffle why not start cooking
with it so it was out with the butter to make a quick truffled shortbread.

These tiny mouthfuls go really well with a truffled chocolate ganache but true to form they did not last long enough for the ganache to be made. Warm shortbread with truffle YUM.   Tomorrow I will be learning how to cook black truffle and black garlic salsa.

Black Truffle harvest time

Tuber melanosporum (perigord black truffle)

Yesterday was domestic chores — no fun.
Today was far more exciting — black truffle harvesting with one of our Lagotto Romanolo truffle dogs. It was time to replenish our fresh truffle after the distiller from Catcher & Co took the truffle we had to make "Black Truffle Gin".  Now it will only be a matter of time before it can be tasted and a wonderful new cocktail created. Thinking caps are on to come up with a new and exciting name for this gin and of course the cocktail.

Truffle hunting and tree pruning

Just over half of the first truffiere planting has now been pruned. Its a really big undertaking specially out in the cold winter days. Lots more to do as today because Fahren, our oldest truffle dog, wanted my undivided attention I only managed to finish half a row. We are now both back inside and she is now curled up in my lounge chair in front of a warm fire.

Hazel and oak trees

It's while Fahren is asleep that Tawdiffu  (truffle dog number two) and I sneak out to do a quick truffle hunt. The dog quickly found a couple of ripe beauties and we also marked two trees for a later harvest. We have now left the the truffiere and as I put down the bag to close the gate Tawdiffu checks out the bags letting me know that there is more truffle to be found and not under a tree.

Hey mum there's more truffle in the bag I can smell it