There are also some varieties that can be found in the United States including areas in Washington and Oregon as well as in Asia, particularly in China and the Middle East. Other varieties and truffle-like species also grow in North Africa. Truffles have risen to popularity because these are used in various gourmet restaurants to come up with dishes that use truffles as main or substitute ingredient. Experts say that truffles are excellent sources of high protein content which it very ideal because these contain all the amino acids essential to good nutrition for humans. For people who don t consume fats and carbohydrates especially to those who are having Western diets truffles are very ideal since it is an excellent source of protein. The time to look and gather truffles is very intensive. Truffles are also low in abundance. Nowadays, in an attempt to meet the demand for truffles, there are some Americans who are growing black truffles commercially. An example would be a truffle company in North Carolina, the Garland s Gourmet Mushrooms and Truffles who have been in the truffle business since 1990s. Yes, you can even train your dog to sniff out truffles. You can start with making your canine friend retrieve a ball, then replace it with cheese. Once your dog learns to retrieve the cheese in exchange for a treat, hide the cheese and make the dog look for it. Finally, replace the cheese with a small truffle. To bring out the flavour of the truffle more, limit the quantity to 8-10 grams of truffle per person. Shave or slice the fungi using the truffle shaver. If you peeled the mushroom, keep it. You could use it in other recipes. Preserved truffles do not have the same level of flavour as the fresh one. To enhance it, you could add truffle infused oil or paste on the recipe. Since truffles are hard to find, truffle hunting has become a big business when truffle season comes. From fall to spring, trufficulteurs or those who hunt for truffles for selling make use dogs that are specially-trained especially in finding buried things usually at night time. Before the use of dogs in hunting truffles, people have been using female pigs or sows for this purpose.