Truffles are not really expensive in the
Arabian peninsula. They might be in
Europe and
America, the cheapest place where you can find them is in the
Saudi deserts. Particularly in the
Nufud and
Dahna deserts, northern tip of Saudi and eastern tip between the central and eastern provinces . where the
sand tends to be red instead of yellow. A pound of truffles will cost no less than 10 U.S Dollars.
Truffles will grow when it rarely rains, usually in September & November. It takes 2 to 4 weeks after the rain fall for the Truffles to grow. Truffle hunting in the desert does not require pigs, a skilled truffle hunter will look for a small gulp on the sand as big as a tennis ball, with cracks on the surface of the sand. The digging starts and the truffles are extracted.
I've tasted a Truffle. It's a weird mix of meat, potatoes, and mushroom taste. Saudis will usually cook truffles with rice as a delicacy. Again its not as expensive as it is in other parts of the world. Also truffle seasons yields huge amounts, I don't have any statistics, every Saudi will have a chance to eat truffles when the season starts.
Maybe I should start a
business out of this and rip off the
capitalist west :).