MELBOURNE, Aug. 23 (PNA/Xinhua) — An Austrlian man who found the world’s largest truffle on his land said he does not plan to sell it.
Stuart Dunbar, a truffle farmer from Woori Yallock in Yarra Valley of Australia’s Victoria State, said the 1.511 kilogram black truffle he found on his farm smashed the previous world record of 1.277 kilograms found in France in 2012.
Despite the truffle being worth approximately USD 2,200 wholesale, Dunbar said he has resolved to keep the fungus in his fridge.
“I’m actually pickling it and keeping it,” Dunbar told Melbourne radio station 3AW on Tuesday.
Dunba said the flavor and aroma of the fungus as well as its scarcity is what made it so valuable.
“If you’ve got three to five grams in a meal you’ve got an unforgettable meal,” he said.
Dunbar said he was working to protect his truffles from the unseasonably warm weather on his farm, approximately 60 kilometers east of Melbourne, when his dog, of the lagotto romagnolo breed famous for their truffle-hunting ability, found the truffle.
The black truffle is the second most expensive edible fungus in the world, behind white truffle.
Dunbar attributed the world-record breaking truffle to his all-natural approach to growing the fungus which require very specific conditions to grow.
“I’ve had a lot of large truffles this year,” he said.
“I suspect it’s because I focus on an organic approach; no pesticides, no herbicides.”
Dunbar, a science graduate and former gemstone prospector, said he was drawn to truffle farming after eating truffle-infused mashed potato.
