There are specific conditions necessary for truffle to grow in soil, which are:

1. Rainfall during the locally known ‘Wassem’ season that falls between Oct 16 and Dec 5, though bedouins have always said that ‘ten days during the Merbeaniya (Forty Days) season would grow as much as the harvest grown during Wassem.

2. To have continued rainfall, even with intervals.

3. Truffles do not grow by seeds. They are rather the product of a fungal soil in lands that have not been trodden beneath automobile tires or manipulated by mankind.

4. To have a relatively warm weather for a while.

5. A year rich in truffles only comes every other year.

So, the bottom line here is that if you, people, want to have enough truffles, you better dump gasoline into the soil so that you do not have enough to drive into the desert easily and leave unspoilt lands to rest and avoid your manipulations.

Oh, people of Kuwait. You are the descendants of glorious forefathers but you are wearing yourselves out climbing too many ladders. You cannot have both truffles and fruits. So you have to decide which you want more: Fruits out of their normal seasons or truffles in due season? —Translated by Kuwait Times

By Dr Saleh Al-Ojairi