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Scientists discovered an undescribed species of truffle, thanks to bonobos, who savor the mushrooms. Credit: Alexander Georgiev ================================================================================== Mushroom-munching bonobos in the Democratic Republic of the Congo have introduced scientists to a new species of truffle. Commonly used by Congolese communities to bait traps for small mammals, Hysterangium bonobo is also savored by bonobos, an endangered species of great ape. Scientists say the truffle hints at vast reserves of undescribed fungal diversity in the region. "Truffles aren't just for gourmet chefs—they're also for our closest relatives," said Matthew Smith, an associate professor in the University of Florida department of plant...

 German bishops weigh hiring homosexual partners, remarried divorcés  Catholic World News - November 26, 2014 The German Catholic bishops have discussed—but eventually tabled—a proposal to allow Church institutions to hire workers who are divorced and remarried, or who are in active homosexual relationships.   Current Church policies forbid the hiring of employees whose living arrangements are in clear contradiction of Christian moral law. But journalist Edward Pentin reports that at a meeting this week, a majority of the German bishops, led by Cardinal Reinhard Marx, were prepared to change that policy.   The drive for change was stalled, at least temporarily,...

The region around Florence is renowned for its food. Ian Henderson discovers why as he joins the hunt for one of its most famous delicacies.I'm enjoying a breakfast of scrambled eggs with delicate shavings of ridiculously expensive white truffle. According to experts, it’s the perfect way to bring out the unmistakable but indefinable flavour. I’m at a perfectly dressed table on the terrace of the luxuriously relaxed Villa La Massa hotel overlooking the River Arno, a few miles outside Florence. Below a kingfisher has just shot across the water, a brighter blue than the pale Tuscan sky. Ahead are the...

ROME (Reuters) - A 1.5-kg white truffle found in the Italian countryside will be sold at a charity auction in Macau where it is expected to fetch 150,000 euros (108,000 pounds). Truffle hunter Cristiano Savini displayed his precious find at a five-star hotel in Rome on Tuesday before it was flown to the Chinese enclave for Saturday's auction. Savini's dog, Rocco, sniffed out the truffle, one of the biggest unearthed in the past 50 years, by an oak tree near Pisa last weekend, in an area of Tuscany where Cristiano and his father scout for truffles every year. Ten years...

LONDON (AFP) - The snob value of the truffle, the rare, delicate-tasting fungi so beloved of chefs, has hit new heights in London with a single specimen selling for 110,000 dollars. The world record price was paid at auction by an unnamed buyer in Hong Kong for a rare white Alba truffle, a sort found only in Piedmont, Italy, for two months of the year. Weighing in at 1.2 kilogrammes (2.6 pounds) -- it was described by auctioneers Christies as "the size of a small handbag" -- the truffle was among several sold at an auction held in the posh...

SPAN class=headline>Truffle KerfuffleChinese "pig-snout" fungi are flooding gourmet-food markets, and the French are not amused   BY HANNAH BEECH | HAMA The locals of Hama village know what to do with a fat, smelly truffle. For centuries, if the village pigs in this remote corner of China's Yunnan province were acting a little less amorous than normal, the farmers fed a shovelful of truffles to the creatures in order to guarantee a future litter of piglets. Then, a few years ago, a strange tale wended its way through this hamlet so disconnected from modern China that Cultural Revolution slogans from...

World-first Australian Truffle FindAn Australian scientist has made a discovery which is electrifying world fungal biology – a new truffle genus related to the famous Amanita family, or fairy toadstools. The Amanita family is famed worldwide for the red and white-spotted toadstools beloved of children's fairy tales, the lethal Death Cap beloved of tabloid media, and a range of delicious edible fungi beloved of gourmets. The find, by CSIRO Forestry and Forest Products mycologist Dr Neale Bougher, highlights Australia as one of the richest centers of truffle biodiversity on the planet. Until Dr Bougher discovered the new fungus in the...