Truffles

Buried Gotland Treasure 

Did you know that there are truffles on Gotland? This much soughtafter aromatic delicacy is used by many restaurants on the island. Gotland truffles are also celebrated in a truffle month and a truffle festival. If you love to eat well and wish to experience Gotland in a slightly new light, you should visit during the truffle season.

Burgundy Truffle

Truffle is a collective name for several species of fungi that fruit underground. Both dogs and pigs are used to find this black gold. A heavenly-smelling truffle can be eaten as it is, to flavour dishes or added to mayonnaise, oil and butter for example,.

Gotland and a few locations on Öland are the only parts of Sweden where truffles are found. 

“Gotland truffle is another name for the black truffle more familiarly known as the Burgundy Truffle, or autumn truffle (Tuber uncinatum in Latin),” says Susanne Welin-Berger, of Tryffel of Sweden.

Real truffles provide real taste

“Truffles have a broad spectrum of aromas and we humans have different tastes. There are a variety of descriptions for truffle aromas. Many people think that truffles taste like the synthetic truffle oils sold in food stores. But anyone who has tasted a dish with real truffles will invariably agree that it was amazingly good but nothing like oils they had tasted before,” says Welin-Berger.

A Gotland harvest

Truffle expert Welin-Berger explains that each truffle belongs to the landowner and that annual harvests vary greatly.

“There are around 60 trained truffle dogs that hunt truffles. In 2017, around 700 kilos of marketable truffles were harvested. During the 2018 drought, this figure fell to about 100 kilos. Over the years, around 7,000 trees have been planted with truffle mycelium on the roots.” 

A whole month of truffles in autumn

Gotland truffle month starts in mid-October and ends with the Truffle Festival in November. Visitors can participate in truffle hunts, eat truffle menus in restaurants and sample various kinds of evening truffle events. During Gotland Truffle Festival, the truffle chef of the year, the honorary truffle of the year, are celebrated, you can participate in a truffle seminar and the fantastic ceremony and a truffle dinner, the grand finale prepared by Kulinariska Gotland.

The truffle is yet another reason to visit Gotland..