We woke to a slight frost on Sunday - the first for this coming winter season. On the "to do" list was cleaning up around our 4 rows of trees innoculated with Tuber borchii - the Bianchetto truffle. I haven't paid them much attention this summer as they're hardier than the Black winter truffle, so the rows were a bit overgrown.
The very first tree I cleaned out had 3 surprises for me - the first truffles of the season! Not ripe of course, so it's a pity they came out of the ground. Two are in this shot - the darker one was already a bit rotten, but the lighter one did have the slightest perfume. And both were a good size. Last year our Borchii crop were all small truffle pieces like pop corn - these ones auger well for the season I hope.
And all this reminds us that the first ripe truffles from Manjimup, WA are expected in the last week of May when we hope to have some in-store and available online.