Originally Posted by
Up In The Air
Sorry to say that this will never, ever work (regardless of any customs restrictions), so please don't consider trying it.
White truffles should be eaten as fresh as possible. They can keep for up to four days (five days maximum) if wrapped in kitchen paper and kept in the refrigerator (preferably in an air-tight container with some rice). The kitchen paper must be changed at least twice a day.
Taking them in your hand luggage I'd guess that they'd have to be consumed within a day of you getting to India – and they'll never make it to the US in any state other than a perished, stinking mess.
It was a great idea, but sadly not possible to do.
PS With white truffles, always use a straight-bladed (not wavy-bladed) truffle shaver. These are rather hard to find, even in Turin.
PPS The white truffle is not a fungi – it's a tuber.
Now this is what I needed to know. I don't know anything about truffles, and Wikipedia wasn't very enlightening. If they won't keep in India for a month, then it would be money wasted. I knew it was a long shot, but I didn't really know. To look at a truffle, it almost looks like ginseng root, something that is indestructible. But I'm not a chef, and had no idea about how to handle a truffle. I think I'll treat myself to one tonight, and unfortunately for my family, I won't try bringing them over several borders over the next month to have for the holidays.