Sorges en Périgord, France 8/13
The Temple of the Black Truffle
Our Garmin GPS sent us in a southwesterly direction on beautiful, sometimes narrow secondary roads towards our next destination we had spotted in the Lonely Planet Guide: Sorges en Périgord, the Capital of the Black Truffles.
The Truffle, a subterranean fungi, thrives on the roots of oak trees. This little mushroom is notoriously capricious and a crop can fetch as much as EU1,000 ($1328.50) per kg. Truffles are sought after by top chefs for an infinite array of gourmet dishes but black truffles are often best eaten quite simply in a plain egg omelet, shaved over buttered pasta or sliced on fresh crusty bread.
The Ecomusée de la Truffe while all in French is quite interesting. You can ask for an English text translation and the truffle hunting movies are self-explanatory.
Truffles are traditionally hunted from December through March by pigs and dogs. We learned that pigs might be slower but show more endurance as they are actually hunting for food. The owners need to be careful that they don’t eat the expensive treats. Dogs are out to please their owners and get bored after an hour.
Conveniently, we stayed overnight across the street in the free RV parking lot.
The Écomusée de la Truffe in Sorges is quite popular.
A giant truffle shingle advertises the museum.
A typical street in Sorges.
The center of Sorges is its church.
This piece of “truffle” art was displayed at a street corner.
This was a great and quiet camping site adjacent to the park and just across the street from the Truffle Museum.
This sign in the park announced very clearly what a beloved “chouchou” is not supposed to do.
Love the blog! I look forward to every entry!
Mark