ON THE HUNT: Georgie Patterson with Summer the truffle dog looking for truffles in Trentham during the very short season. Picture: Julie Hough
IT’S a job needed for only 12 weeks a year, but to sniff out ripe truffles in the ground isn’t as easy as it sounds.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
This time each year, Summer inspects rows of more than 1200 oak and hazelnut trees to find the expensive edible fungi.
She’s been taught to locate the edible subterranean food, which grows in a symbiotic relationship with the shallow roots of oak or hazel trees.
It sells at up to $6000 per kilogram, but for Summer’s owner Georgie Patterson, the job is more of a hobby than a business.
Her business, Aussie Truffle Dogs, will host an event on July 12 at 11am to raise money for the Rarer Gundog Spaniel Club of Victoria.
Go to www.trenthamtruffledogs.com.au for more information.
