THE move by fast food restaurant chain McDonald’s to add ‘a hint of truffle’ to its Angus beef burger highlights both the opportunity and challenges facing one of Australia’s most successful emerging industries.
In less than 20 years, Australia has become the world’s fourth largest producer of truffle, the fruiting body of fungus grown under ground with a distinct aroma that is sold as a high end luxury restaurant specialty.
McDonald’s Angus truffle and cheese burger, launched this month, is part of it’s gourmet creations range.
The company says it’s truffle aioli is made with a salsa which uses mushrooms and real Black Summer truffles sourced from Italy.
While truffle producers welcome the burger as a way for consumers to “dip their toe in” and perhaps start to foster a growing taste for, and interest in, truffle, they say it’s not the “full truffle experience.”
Growers want truffle to retain its place as a high-end restaurant experience.
A kilogram of Australia truffle at the farmgate is worth $1500 and plated on a restaurant it sells for between $4000 and $6000/kg.
For that reason, synthetic truffle essence or aroma is increasingly being used by a range of other food retailers in everything from oils to salsas.
Indiscriminate use of truffle aroma has become one of the key threats to sustained growth and profitability in the industry, according to Dr Peter Stahle, from the Australian Truffle Growers Association.
“The challenge is consumer knowledge of truffle is limited and they are not differentiating between the Real McCoy and truffle essence, a product made in a laboratory,” he said.
Dr Stahle said there were now around 250 truffle growers in Australia, with exceptional production levels up to 500kg/ha.
Around 85pc of production was exported to more than 30 countries, including the US, Europe, Hong Kong, Singapore and Japan.
Australia produces truffle out-of-season to Europe and so we are able to put fresh truffle into that developed market at a time when it only competes with processed local product, he said.