Biggest truffle on record in NZ
Jax Lee has unearthed a New Zealand record 1.36-kilogram black truffle, worth thousands of dollars when she exports it.
Truffle expert Dr Ian Hall said a similar-sized black (or Perigord) truffle had been dug up in Gisborne in the 1990s, ‘‘but I’m sure Jax’s would be a New Zealand record’’.
Truffles may not be quite black gold, but they are considered the world’s most expensive food. The equivalent weight in gold of Lee’s example is 43 ounces, worth $54,000.
Hall said he had seen the Perigord or black truffle on sale in Harrods in London for $8748 a kilogram.
Lee, who is the general manager of Kings Truffles in North Canterbury, said she was racing against time to airfreight the truffle overseas before it spoiled.
The likely buyers would be in Hong Kong or San Francisco.
‘‘We’ve got a distributor in HK and San Fran. Both the Asian and American markets are big,’’ Lee said.
‘‘It’s got to be sent as soon as possible, usually the day after it’s been dug up.’’
It could be sold locally to restaurants but the wholesale price would be $3 a gram, or about $4000 for the total.
While black truffles are expensive delicacies, the smaller white ones are even more so. In 2007 Hong Kong gambling tycoon Stanley Ho paid US$300,000 for a 1.5kg white, a price eclipsed in 2010 for a 1kg specimen which was auctioned for US$417,200.
White truffles are traditionally grated over pasta, while chunks of black truffles are used in cooking.
Truffles grow in and around the roots of a variety of trees, including hazelnut, oaks, and pines.
The trees are sold as seedlings ‘‘infected’’ with the truffle spores, and begin to produce truffles in five years but may take many more.
Hall, who used to work at Crop and Food Research (now Plant and Food), said New Zealand had great potential to be a truffle producer but lack of funding had stalled the industry.
New Zealand produced about 100kg a year, whereas Australia, which started its industry about the same time in the 1970s, digs up about 45 tonnes.