I'll drink to that where we get behind the scenes of the beverage business.

I'm Levy Dalton.

I'm Erin Scala and here's our show today. Oh, They grow underground, pigs love them and they are one of the most expensive items on earth.

That's right, I'm talking about our favorite fungi, truffles. We're just about to get into high truffle season, so it's time for a truffle refresher.

There are many species of truffles, but two main species are at the top of wish lists.

Black Paragord Winter Truffles from France,

these are Tuba Melanesporum,

and white winter truffles from Northern Italy.

These are Tuba Mag magnetum, pico.

Truffles grow underground on the roots of oak, hazel, and linden trees.

Within their knobby masses, they contain spores,

and truffles emit an aromatic steroid, Androstenone, to attract animals that can dig them up and

spread these spores.

Forest critters, insects, pigs, dogs, and people are all sniffing out this subterranean fungus.

Troubles have a symbiotic relationship with the tree roots that nourish them.

They send out filaments that connect to the roots.

This substance changes the soil around the tree, and trees

laden with troubles often have a soil patch around the base where grass cannot grow.

Instead, the soil looks bubbly and dark brown, and it's called roule.

Pigs can sniff out truffles, but using them as dangerous business,

because they want the truffles as much as we do.

In fact, Androsthanone makes sows want to mate.

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