This website is about Facts & Fake on truffles,
the most mysterious and expensive of all mushrooms.
There are many stories about truffles on the internet.
But are the many stories about the "diamonds of the kitchen" true?
Did Pharaoh Cheops eat truffles in goose fat?
Can truffles be cultivated like other crops?
Do truffles increase the desire for love?
Is Germany a "belated truffle nation"?
Did the Nazis include truffles in their statute of nature protection?
How are consumers deceived with artificial truffle flavouring?
And how many white truffles really come from Piedmont in Italy or black noble truffles from France?
Book authors, journalists and sellers of truffles and truffle products often copy the best stories and quotes from each other. Even scientists are sometimes gullible. Even Wikipedia contains many a false historical detail taken from dubious websites.
On this website, all research and quotations are referenced. All non-designated photos are by Christian Volbracht.
We are grateful for discussions and advice on possible errors or mistakes.
I am Christian Volbracht, news journalist and author, collector of books on mushrooms and truffles. I have been studying the historical, scientific and cultural history of truffles for a long time. In 2012 my book "Trüffeln - Mythos und Wirklichkeit" (out of print) was published, in 2020 the updated new edition "Die Trüffel. Fake & Facts".¹
I have collected a lot of information on trips to truffle areas. My most important sources are contacts with practitioners, experts and scientists - and my own library with thousands of books and writings on mushrooms from the 15th to the 21st century .
I founded the antiquarian bookshop MykoLibri more than 30 years ago. It is the only antiquarian bookshop in the world that specialises entirely in books about mushrooms and truffles.
In 2006, the bibliographic catalogue of my book collection with many illustrations from old mushroom and truffle books was published: "MykoLibri. die Bibliothek der Pilzbücher".²
¹ Die Trüffel. Fake & Facts. Tre Torri Verlag, Wiesbaden, 2021. ISBN 978-3-96033-092-9. Euro 35,- Copies signed by the author can be ordered directly from the Antiquariat MykoLibri: http://mykolibri.de
² MykoLibri. Die Bibliothek der Pilzbücher. Hamburg: Selbstverlag 2006, supplementary volume 2017. To order at Antiquariat MykoLibri: http://mykolibri.de