Giant Truffle Found by Dog, Brings $330,000
My dog finds sticks and dead squirrels - but Luciano Savini’s dog found his owner a giant truffle that brought $330,000 (£165,000) at an auction held simultaneously in Macau, London and Florence.
The giant truffle weighed 1.5kg (3.3lb), and was found near Pisa in northern Italy. The winning bidder was Mr. Stanley Ho, a casino owner from Macau.
Two other folks bidding for the truffle were British artist Damien Hirst and Sheikh Mansour Bin Zayed.
Since I’m an artist myself, I naturally wondered how an artist could afford to bid on this amazingly expensive and somewhat odorous bit of fungus, so I looked up Mr. Hirst on the Web. Turns out he’s best known for his Butcher Shop series, in which dead animals like sheep, sharks and cows are displayed floating in formaldehyde. Now why didn’t I think of that?
Just in case you’re one of the millions of people who can’t actually afford to eat a truffle, here’s a bit of info:
The fungus lives underground near trees, and are said to smell like deep-fried sunflower seeds or walnuts. Dogs and pigs can smell the truffles through the soil, and that’s why Mr. Savini’s dog was able to make his owner such a big pile of money.
Trained truffle dogs don’t usually eat the delicacies when they find them, but pigs will. Sows are drawn to the odor of the buried fungus because it smells like a sex pheromone given off by boars. Perhaps that’s where the truffle got it’s reputation as an aphrodesiac.
The fungus is used (sparingly) by thinly shaving uncooked slices and serving over buttered pasta or salads, or by inserting the slices into meats or under the skins of roasting fowl. It must be assumed that the giant truffle will be soon eaten by it’s proud new owner and a fairly large number of dinner guests. The truffle oil that you and I might be able to afford to flavor our pasta doesn’t actually contain any truffles.