Where climate change has played the villain on continental Europe, further north, in Scotland, the temperatures are now just right for the fungus to grow strong and aromatic enough to become a viable substitute for Italian tartufoWhile the question of how the maternal mycelium meets the paternal partner has still not been satisfactorily resolved.2 min readNov 4, 2026 06:15 AM IST First published on: Nov 4, 2026 at 06:15 AM ISTThe philosopher Theophrastus once suggested that lightning strikes were responsible for the growth of truffles — those subterranean lumps with an aroma so tempting that they’ve led to blood feuds and global smuggling networks. Only a non-terrestrial force, surely, could produce something this beguilingly delicious. While the question of how the maternal mycelium meets the paternal partner has still not been satisfactorily resolved, the truffle’s decline, at least, has a clear answer in Italy’s Piedmont, the region most associated with this valuable fungus: Hotter, drier summers brought on by changing climate.It’s the same story in other prized food products, like cocoa, coffee and vanilla. In regions like France’s Bordeaux and Italy’s Tuscany, rising temperatures are leading to grapes ripening earlier, changing the flavour profile of the wines produced here. It differs in details, but the imminent collapse of the world’s truffle production — especially the rare white truffle —is only the latest chapter in the history of foods driven to extinction. There was, for example, the passenger pigeon of North America, one of the most abundant birds on the continent that was hunted for its rich, gamey meat; the last specimen died in a zoo in 1914. And long before that was silphium, a pungent herb so loved by the Romans that they ate it out of existence in the 1st or 2nd century CE.AdvertisementThere may yet be a twist in the tale of the truffle, though. Where climate change has played the villain on continental Europe, further north, in Scotland, the temperatures are now just right for the fungus to grow strong and aromatic enough to become a viable substitute for Italian tartufo. Gourmands may scoff at the provenance, but a Scottish truffle is better than none at all.© The Indian Express Pvt Ltd ShareWhatsapptwitterFacebook