Spain’s black truffle crop is world’s largest

Between the coast of Valencia and the mountains of Teruel lies Gúdar Javalambre, a remote arid patch of the interior which is on its way to becoming the truffle capital of the world.

The cultivation of ‘black diamonds’ is beginning to transform the local sparsely populated rural economy. Only around 9,000 people inhabit about 24 towns and villages in a region which has seen little investment and steadily declining population.

Since the 1980s swathes of holm oak trees have been planted in around 6,500 hectares. It is the holm oak which is ideal for cultivating black truffles (tuber melanosporum).

The truffles are responsible for bringing new life to the area despite fetching less than wild white truffles found in Italy’s Piedmont.

A kilo of top quality, unblemished black truffles could be worth around €850. The price now is good because both France and Italy are undergoing a bad season.

Previously the land was given over to farming, but the stony, dry soil was not very productive.

An estimated 40 tonnes are expected to come from the Teruel area, or about 70% of the global production. Nearly all will be taken to France for resale on to Italy, Britain and the US, with only about 5% remaining in Spain.

The dealers, many from France, make their purchases in the railway station car park at a gathering held in the dark every Saturday night from November to March. Inspection is often by torchlight in the back of a car.

It is the low take-up in Spain that the association representing the truffle growers, Atruter, wishes to change.

"Our aim is to do more to promote truffles within Spain, to spread the word about the different ways to use truffles and of course to promote it abroad as a Spanish brand," explained spokesperson José Manuel Martínez Matías.

Some hotels and restaurants in the area are beginning to offer gourmet weekend breaks featuring truffle-led cuisine.

But the association knows that many products may be enhanced with the truffle, from pates and chocolate to honey and cheese and it is growth in this direction that the association is promoting.

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