Black Truffles: A Disappearing Act : Mushrooms: The precious delicacy is becoming scarcer because of the deterioration of the environment. So France has created the first university to study the “black diamond.”

The black truffle, ultimate symbol of luxury and refinement in French gastronomy, is in danger of disappearing.

To ensure its survival, experts from Carpentras, in the heart of France’s biggest truffle-producing region in the south, have taken the unusual step of creating the world’s first university devoted to the study of this famous delicacy.

The so-called Perigord truffle is a black crinkly mushroom, about the size of a potato, with a pungent, earthy flavor. It grows under the ground in limited areas, mainly at the base of a particular type of oak tree.

It has to be “sniffed out” by specially trained dogs, or, less commonly, pigs.

Because of its rarity, and therefore high price, it has lent prestige to the tables of royalty and celebrities for centuries.

On coming to power nearly 3OO years ago, the English Queen Anne, a noted gourmet, gave her cooks an extra allowance to provide truffles and other tasty mushrooms for the royal dishes.

The French writer Colette, who died in 1954, used to poach them in Champagne--her bank balance permitting--when she organized an annual “truffle day” for her friends.

At the beginning of this century, the national yearly crop was more than 1,OOO tons. Since then, two world wars, bush fires, roads and building projects have steadily reduced the oak trees necessary for the truffle’s survival.

Last year France produced only about 2O tons of truffles because of a lack of rain. This year, also a dry one, the crop could be as low as 6 to 10 tons, according to Paul Bonnet, president of the new university, and a third-generation trufficulteur, as French truffle farmers are called.

“They are becoming scarcer because of the constant deterioration of the environment,” he said.

“The wild mountain crops could soon disappear, so we must get to work now to increase the truffle production on the farms. This is one of the aims of the university.

“Since truffles appear only after the oak trees have been in the ground for 10 years, and each mushroom takes several years to mature, there is no time to lose,” he added.

The economic potential of the truffle is enormous, which explains why in France it is known as the “black diamond.” In a dry season, it can fetch up to $180 a pound. Last year it averaged $130.

A white truffle, considered the poor relation of the black truffle, fetches nowhere near the same high prices.

“We only produce one-hundredth of the overall demand,” Bonnet said. “No matter how high the production, the world market will never be saturated.”

The greatest truffle gourmets, apart from the French, are American, Japanese, German, British and Swiss.

Spain and Italy are the two other truffle producers.

“They have more marketing know-how, but they do not produce more. And their truffles do not taste as good as ours,” Bonnet added.

Although the black truffle is traditionally said to come from the Perigord region, the Carpentras truffle market, held every Friday from late November to mid-March, is now the biggest in the world, according to Bonnet.

The new university will cover every aspect of the truffle, including research, cultivation, marketing and cooking techniques.

It will be financed by local and regional authorities, probably with help from the French Agriculture and Education ministries.

Commenting on truffles being produced and sold from a laboratory in California, Bonnet said: “I’ve tasted them. I’ve also tasted laboratory truffles from Japan. They are nowhere near the flavor of the real thing. There’s no danger of laboratory truffles taking over the market.”

Truffles should be prepared as simply as possible, according to Bonnet. Like all mushrooms, they should never be cooked too long.

One of the tastiest and most common ways of eating them is in an omelet. Truffle pastries and truffle-flavored pate are also delicacies.

Truffles are said to be an aphrodisiac, but Bonnet was reluctant to commit himself.

“That’s probably just folklore,” he said. “But it is true that truffles are always part of an excellent meal, with plenty of good wine to wash them down. I guess the rest follows naturally.”