Tulipmania..................
Truffle Prices Soar in Italy
ROME (AP) -- Truffle prices in Italy have skyrocketed this year, with a kilogram of the wild white fungus now going for more than $4,000.
The 1999 price is nearly quadruple what it was four years ago, driven up by a growing demand for the gnarled and pungent delicacy.
``Prices are heading for the stars,' gastronomic expert Tonino Strumia was quoted as saying Sunday in the Rome daily Il Messaggero.
The crowds at the annual truffle fair last month in Alba was another sign of the growing popularity of truffles. Nearly 500,000 people went to the fair, and nearly one in 10 ended up buying some truffles, the paper said.
Considered a delicacy since Roman times, truffles are found in Umbria, Tuscany and Piedmont.
They are fungus that forms in symbiosis with tree roots and are found under oaks, poplars, chestnuts, junipers and walnuts. They range in size from a chick pea to an orange.
Italian truffle hunters use dogs to sniff out the fungus and competition is so intense that nearly every year sees truffle dogs being bumped off, presumably in battles over the best hunting grounds.
AP-NY-11-07-99 1042EST
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