Using a pig’s sense of smell, they can detect a truffle’s scent as deep as three feet underground. Truffles release a specific aroma that enriches their flavor and attracts pigs.
Pigs have a exceptional sense of smell, and are able to identify truffles from as deep as three feet underground. It is thought that the natural sex hormones of the male pig are similar to the smell of the truffles, and, also, pigs have a natural affinity for rooting in the earth for food.
One source claimed any harvested before or after this aromatic time will have very little value-and dogs and pigs can smell the subterranean fungi. Pigs have been traditionally used to hunt truffles. This is because they have an excellent sense of smell and are beckoned to the truffle, as they contain androstenol, a sex hormone found in the saliva of male pigs.
It has been shown that your average female pig can sniff out a truffle buried 3 m., and (9ft) deep. A trained dog is only able a detect truffles up to 1 m. (3ft) under the ground. Truffles emit aromas which sows find very sexy. Truffles contain quantities of a natural substance ( 5a-androst-16-en-3a-ol) produced in the testes of boars.
Are pigs used to hunt truffles?
Truffles grow off of tree roots underground, which means only animals with the best sniffers can locate them. Traditionally, pigs were used to hunt truffles, but more recently truffle-hunting dogs have replaced them. Why are pigs out and dogs in?
Another frequent query is “Why do we use pigs to hunt truffles?”.
Pigs are nature’s truffle hunter. Attracted to the scent of the truffle they find it, eat it and then the truffle spores are spread around through the pig’s faeces after digestion If they are so skilled then why do we use dogs? Firstly, dogs also make excellent truffle hunters as they have such a highly developed sense of smell.
What is a truffle hog?
A truffle hog is any domestic pig used for locating and extracting the fruit bodies of the fungi known as truffles from temperate forests in Europe and North America. Pigs have a exceptional sense of smell, and are able to identify truffles from as deep as three feet underground.