While Mike was smoothing out and piling up large branches and debris under some of the standing trees he rolled up a truffle that I noticed as I was walking past. It was large in size compared to any of the other truffles I have seen from around the area and early in the season for ripe truffles.

It had that pliable yet firm texture, think of a potato that is just past its prime and a little spongy, as I would expect a truffle to feel like. I could detect no odor and that was out of character for a ripe truffle since they give off a nutty, woodsy fragrance that drive squirrels gaa-gaa and how they are found by  forest burrowers, dogs, and pigs. I suspected that this specimen was not quite ripe yet, but with the size had me quite baffled.

I took it to the house and cleaned it up with a vegetable brush before further examination.

When I cut into the nodule I found unexpected brown powder. A ripe truffle would be moist with almost what one would expect a sliced brain to look like with patterned reddish lines and squiggles.

The powder that was the inside of the nodule was dry to the touch and had no smell whatsoever that I could detect. I may be wrong, but I concluded that this may be a leftover forgotten truffle that managed to survive through the fall and winter from last year’s growth during our drier than average seasons.

By remaining undisturbed in the ground over the winter and spring, the brain-like center disintegrated into powder while leaving the outside still soft and pliable.

While I was happy to make a new find, the inside of this surprise was a let down since I already had planned a couple of meals with finely diced truffles adding to the flavor.