Truffle Season in Switzerland

Sep 15, 2011
Gail Mangold-Vine

Bern Truffle Market (2010) - Schweizer Trüffelvereinigung, Bremgarten

The Alpine nation may be too far north for the hallowed Périgord black or Alba white truffle to grow, but Burgundy truffles abound.

Worldwide, there are some 240 different species of truffles. These mushrooms grow underground, existing in a symbiotic relationship with tree roots. There are truffles for all seasons – the season for the prized white Alba ones in Italy is between October and December, and for the black Périgord from France and other points south between December and March.

The ones that grow best in Switzerland are fall truffles that are sniffed out by truffle hounds between September and December – and by far the most prevalent of these aromatic culinary delights is the Burgundy truffle (Tuber uncinatum).

Switzerland is presently in the throes of a culinary renaissance, one of the main characteristics of which is pride in local products, whether hunted, gathered or farmed. It has led to a flurry of creativity, in winemaking, cheese making, chocolate making.

A revival of heirloom fruit and vegetables is going great guns. Local herbs and flowers are being used with ever more flair in tisanes and cookery, while traditional, place-centric ways of making things ranging from air-dried meat to fruit brandies are acquiring federal government backed “AOC/IGP” labels that protect the products.

Gourmet shops, farmers’ markets and restaurants vie with each other to offer unusual local products, and there had been a surge in food and wine events including specialized markets.

Two truffle associations, both founded in 2009, have also come into being: the Swiss Truffle Association, headquartered in the German-speaking part of the country, and the Association of the Swiss Truffle, in Bonvillars, canton Vaud, in the French-speaking part of the country.

Growing Awareness of Swiss Truffles

However: interviewed by phone, Markus Nydegger said he sees the Swiss Truffle Association of which he is president less in the context of the aforementioned and more in terms of Swiss culinary tradition – pointing out that Swiss chefs have long been clued in to the textural and aromatic beauties of the Burgundy truffle – and the fact that mushroom gathering is a major traditional Swiss late summer/early fall pastime, as is increasingly truffle hunting.

“Our association already has over 100 members,” says Nydegger. “Fifty percent are hunters, who own truffle dogs; 25% joined because they intend to become truffle hunters; and 25% are somehow involved with the culinary aspects of truffles.”

He says the association’s main vocation is to create awareness that there are truffles in Switzerland; how to recognize truffle types; and also how to protect the places where they grow. “For example, you have to fill in the hole the dog digs, if you want truffles to keep growing in those spots.”

The association also informs about how to stock the precious fungi properly, and to prepare truffles for eating (they must not be washed – the earth must be brushed off very gently). Burgundy truffles may either be chopped up and cooked, used for example in a stuffing or a sauce, but with a special device they are also sliced raw sliver-thin on top of certain dishes. Cheese and truffle fondue is a great favorite.

Ninety-Eight Percent of Swiss Truffles Are Burgundy Truffles

Nydegger says that 98% of the truffles in Switzerland are the Burgundy blacks so highly sought-after in cookery. But there is also the Tuber mesentericum, another black truffle that “smells like petrol,” and a winter truffle – these account for 1% each. “Here’s where knowing what you’re doing comes into it,” says Nydegger. “Not all truffles are edible – and there are two reddish types that grow in Switzerland that are poisonous. However they are truffles and have the smell, so a dog will sniff them out.” Whatever type of truffle it is, dogs will only sniff them out when they are ripe, he says.

He also mentions that, what with global warming, truffle collectors have started to note some anomalies in the kinds of truffle that grow in Switzerland – “very rarely, you do find Périgord truffles,” says Nydegger.

According to Nydegger, some Swiss chefs working abroad arrange to have truffle hunters ship them the Burgundy truffles they are used to from home. Thus, he says, in places as far afield as Moscow and Dubai the fame of the Swiss truffle is spreading.

For those living in Switzerland, there are stores specializing in Swiss truffles and truffle products such as Ueli and Susanne Engel’s shop in Biel/Bienne (canton Bern). In the French-speaking part of the country, Frank Siffert is known for items like truffle sausage available at the yearly truffle market in Bonvillars listed below.

Truffle Events in Switzerland

2nd annual “Grosser Berner Trüffelmarkt,” Saturday, September 24, 2011, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Place: Waisenhausplatz, Bern City.
1st annual “Grosser Bieler Trüffelmarkt,” Saturday, October 8, 2011, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Place: Ringplatz in the Old Town, Biel/Bienne (canton Bern). The picture is from the 2010 market: it features the Burgundy truffle. 10 grams is .35 ounces; 6.50 Swiss francs, at current rates, is $7.50.
3rd annual “Marché aux Truffes Suisse,” Saturday, October 29, 2011, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Place: La Cour Bernoise, Bonvillars (canton Vaud).