In a time not so long ago, you had to take your car and cross France to Périgord, go to the market of a century-old village and rummage through carefully guarded baskets to obtain truffles. From now on, to find the precious mushroom, nothing could be simpler. All you have to do is walk through the door of the first trendy restaurant you come across and bingo! Truffle pasta, truffle pizza, truffle charcuterie, truffle cheese… Don’t throw any more away. Or so, let’s continue to the supermarket: truffled raclette, truffle salt, truffle crisps… Did you know that? Even Boursin released a limited edition with truffle for Christmas.
The bug is so omnipresent that it can even be found in fast food restaurants. For this winter season, Quick is offering a limited edition mushroom burger. This is because the vein is juicy: national consumption has more than doubled over the last ten years, according to MadeinFr, a research firm specializing in the French market.
A luxury choice, for lack of anything better
“Abundance of good does no harm,” it seems. But still: wouldn’t we be overdoing it a little with the truffle? The ingredient certainly has the ultimate marketing argument: “It gives an image of luxury and gastronomic refinement to any product, and therefore not only makes it more attractive, but also boosts prices,” indicates Clémentine Hugol-Gential, specialist in contemporary food issues at the University of Burgundy.
And few know how to do that. “Luxury food products are quite rare: foie gras, caviar, truffles… and that’s it,” says Bernard Boutboul, president of Gira, a firm specializing in catering. “Not only is the truffle the only vegetarian food on the list – a definite argument – but it is above all the most suitable to be served as an accompaniment.” Because pasta with foie gras or pizza with caviar, thank you, but no thank you.
“Add six euros to the price for three poor shavings of truffles inside”
By force, the string is a little thick. “Add 6 euros to the price of the dish for three poor shavings of truffles inside, it’s starting to show,” complains Laura, a 33-year-old southerner who is determined not to be cheated. “Prices are already soaring with inflation, so if only restaurants could avoid doping them even more with pseudo-high end products. » This is because the semi-scam is never far away, warns Bernard Boutboul: “The truffle is becoming complicated for the consumer to understand. Between the white truffle, the black truffle, the truffle aroma… The product loses its value, and the customer becomes suspicious. »
That’s the paradox: by force to “pop” everywhere like the mushroom that it is, the truffle loses its unique side… its main argument. “It’s hard not to find that certain uses are a little paradoxical,” recognizes Marie-Eve Laporte, teacher-researcher at Paris Saclay and specialist in the evolution of eating behavior. Wanting to sell chips or gourmet fast food is inevitably reducing one or the other as the marketing arguments are the opposite. » An observation that Laura shares: “If I go to Quick or buy chips, it’s to devour them, not to savor it delicately. »
“I like truffles, but let’s stop believing that it goes with everything”
The truffle cannot even be saved by its taste, which is much less consensual than the current overabundance might lead us to believe. “All consumer studies show that truffles have a very divisive taste which does not suit a large part of the population,” explains Bernard Boutboul. We welcome Dimitri, 31, to bring out the sulphate: “Truffle raclette is the most overrated thing in the world. It seems like we can no longer settle for a normal raclette… I like truffles, but let’s stop believing that it goes with everything or that it’s necessarily added value. »
Laura’s last round for the taste knockout: “ I don’t have the standard of living to regularly buy caviar, and that’s okay. Why do brands want me to believe that I can buy truffled products? It must be sub-truffle. »
Truffle is the new salmon
The case of the mushroom is strongly reminiscent of that of another somewhat excessive hype in French stomachs: salmon, smoked or natural. In 1980, a French people ate on average 340 grams of this fish per year, compared to almost 3 kg today. An explosion such that “salmon can no longer be considered a luxury product”, points out Bernard Boutboul, but just a fish a little more expensive than the others.
“This is a bit like what is happening with truffles,” warns Marie-Eve Laporte. By putting it everywhere, we risk losing the festive, rare and gastronomic side. » What if the truffle ends up getting boring? The professor reassures: “The traders will find something else.”