Tarfas .. Health benefits and livelihood provider in Tunisia

Hayat Ben Hilal - Tunisia

Deep in the Tunisian south-eastern desert, people are seen here and there from all walks of life and social classes, looking to the ground and walking slowly in search of "thunderstorms" or "truffles" or "truffles."

The truffles mature in this period each year in the southern regions of Tunisia, particularly in the provinces of Maddenine and Tataouine, where this type of mushroom continues from late January to April and has become a major concern for the people of the region.

The truffle is also found in other Arab countries. Its name varies from one country to another. In Tunisia, Libya, Algeria, Morocco, it is called Tarfas, Sudan is the daughter of thunder, and in some Gulf countries it is called al-faqa'a or truffle.

The turf is eaten after cooking in water and salt after cleaning it. It can also be cooked with some foods such as: noodles, couscous and soups, and there are grated on the fire.

Rare wild mushroom
Truffles or truffles Rare seasonal berry, grows after rainfall in the desert under the soil with a depth of 5 to 15 centimeters, and the weight of one truffle is between 30 to 900 grams.

Tarvas grows like a potato, close to some desert plant species and close to the roots of huge trees such as the oak tree. It is considered one of the finest and most valuable types of desert mushrooms.

The color is white, black and red, with varying sizes, some of which may be reduced to the size of the almond or growing to the size of the pomegranate or larger.

The researcher seeks truffles to exhale the earth and remove the fungus in a way that seems arduous to those who do not know it, but it is enjoyable for those who know it. It requires skill, know-how and patience. It grows under the soil and the scratching loses its quality and lasts for hours or days.

subsistence
Some of the collection of Trevas and search for a hobby and leisure in the leisure and holidays. "It's just fun," said Nasser, a professor of secondary education. "The search for truffles is very enjoyable."

However, many have made him a seasoned career that represents a livelihood for them, like the young Thirteen who took the profession of Trevas after many years of unemployment, and says to Al-Jazeera Net: "The fact that the trevas saved me from the clutches of poverty. "He said.

The Tarfas is a source of livelihood for the people of the south of the country, where a large number of the region's residents depend on it to save money and go out to collect and sell it in the regular markets or markets of its own after many Tunisian and foreign merchants have bought and exported it to Europe and some Gulf countries.

Health benefits
The machete has many benefits discovered by medicine, which has made it very expensive and required in Western and Arab countries. It is sold at high prices of up to 120 dinars ($ 41) per kilogram at the beginning of the season and then gradually reduced.

Al-Bukhaari narrated in his Sahih that the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: "Truffle is a manna and a cure for the eye." They used to deal with "Tarfas" from the darkness of sight and ophthalmology. May Allah be pleased with him, who said: "I took three Akmu or five or seven Vasrtn, and I made their water in a bottle, so I was replaced by a maid, I was discharged."

Truffles are also used to treat bone and nail osteoporosis and their fracture, which contains a large amount of protein and minerals necessary for health, activity and growth, including potassium, calcium, phosphorus, iron, zinc and copper.