sought after root-crop delicacy, truffles, is now available in Dammam, sold by farmers from far-flung villages of the Eastern Province. Truffles are a group of edible species of underground roots belonging to the fungal genus Tuber. Since truffles are a fungus, they thrive on moisture. Therefore, the best time to find them in the desert would be after heavy rain. “The hunt for truffles starts in the desert immediately after the seasonal rains,” said Abdullah, a Bedouin from Al-Ahsa. Truffles are entirely made up of roots; they have no other characteristics to identify them. “Truffles are an underground fungi vegetable that appears in the desert immediately after the rain. There is no tree, stem or leaves portion on it. Experts like me can only identify the location of its source in sand,” Abdullah said. He said the only indication that a truffle is hiding underground is a bulge in the sand. “We truffle hunters know when we see the bulge there is a delicacy waiting beneath the earth's surface.” Because of belief in their nutritional and medicinal values, a truffle is not cheap in the local markets. Truffles sell from SR100 to SR500 per kilo, depending on their quality. “These highly medicinal root crops are very good for the kidneys as well as for the eyes. So whenever I see them in the market, especially this season, I purchase them, even if they are expensive,” said Abdullah Qahtani, after buying two kilograms. Hussain Al-Hajji, another lover of the truffle, who makes soup out of the crop, said that people from northern Arabia cook truffles as a replacement for meat and mix it in KABSA. He said that many Arabs believe that the Saudi truffles are a kind of manna which Allah Almighty sent to the people in the region to provide them with food during times of scarcity. __
