Ryan Jacobs

I knew absolutely nothing about truffles except thinking of them as a status symbol for the ultra-rich. The book laid out how they grow--underground in symbiosis with roots of certain varieties of trees under only specific conditions and how they are gathered, sold to middlemen who sell to restaurants. Then various crimes and frauds were detailed in the true crime section. The first half was more interesting than the last half of the book. Someday curiosity might drive me to try one, but for now, plain old mushrooms satisfy me.… (mais)

An informative and entertaining exposé of the Truffle business (from land to table and all the bits inbetween) - theft, secrecy, fraud, intrigue, and death. Who knew there was all this underground shenanigans for a fungus! The writing style is that of an investigative reporter - so lots of interviews with lots of people. I found the beginning half dealing with truffles and truffle hunting interesting, the distribution, scheming around selling the fungus, and law "enforcement" not so much.


… (mais)

Truffle popcorn, truffle chips, truffle cheese – unless you’re very rich, you won’t have tasted authentic French or Italian truffles. They’re too rare and too expensive. And that rarity has led to fraud, theft, poison, and murder. The Truffle Underground by Ryan Jacobs reads like a true-crime novel. It will change your opinion of foraging forever.

https://wanderlustandwords.substack.com/p/truffle-hounds-romance-and-intrigue - 3 books reviewed… (mais)

Who knew????
Who knew that a simple fungus could lead to assaults, the murder of dogs, robberies, fraud, and more! A mushroom, highly sought after by chefs all over the world, causes untold damages to people all over Italy and France.
In fairness, growing up in Wisconsin, morel mushrooms were the "truffle" of our time. People guarded morel "honey holes" with a great deal of secrecy. But I never heard of anything like the extreme behaviors the author documents.
From the simplest farmer, to multi-national corporations, everyone involved in the pursuit of truffles seems to go a bit wacky. Granted, there's a good deal of money to be made, but what in the world gets into people?
The author has written an intriguing look into the truffle world. I found myself just shaking my head at some of the antics he describes. It's really too bad. While I think truffles are okay, I also think that they are highly overrated. Just another status symbol for people to hold over each other's heads, like who has the biggest and best boat, car, or the rarest wine.… (mais)