Fagaa, a Desert Treat

Did you know that in the desserts of Saudi Arabia they say "the Desert is an ocean"?

They do not think of it as a dried up wasteland at all and in this desert there are hunters. These hunters protect their territory jealously, because they hunt for something called a Fagaa, which is also know to the Saudi's as "the meat of the dessert". To us it would be called a truffle, a kinds of fungi that only grows after the rainy season in Saudi Arabia.
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In order to find fagaa there are men who go out by the dozens scouring the landscape over a deserted plain that has green vegetation that only will appear after the rains have come. This rainy season is known as a wessem.

To the Saudi people the fagaa is consider to be a symbol of fruitfulness and offers many benefits to their country. This truffle was considered "the fruit of their covenant with Allah" and a gift from the Gods by prehistoric tribesmen and woman, and is still treasured today.

The signal for time to go find this treat is when the locust fly, as it means soon there will be fagaa to find. It is then the men head out to the desert on their search for these treasures. They go out with sticks and search among small and subtle cracks in the desert sands. When they find a place that looks like a prospective truffle exists, they dig down with their sticks until they find them. Most of them weigh between 1 and 10 ounces after they have been dug up. Unlike the French that use pigs and dogs for searching for truffles, the Arabs themselves do the hunting.

There are two types of this desert fungis, one is called khalasi and is oval shaped with inside of pinkish-white and a black colored skin. The most treasured of the two types however, is the zubaidi (which means "the king") which is treasured the most. It is a white type of truffle and is lighter in taste than any other truffles. This amazing tuber-fungi is created because lightening hitting the dessert causes electrical charges during the rain storms. This leavens the soil with nitrogen and makes this particular fungus have the extraordinary taste it is renown for. There are many forms of truffles around the world but this one is treasured above all the other for its light delicate taste.

There is the chocolate truffle and many other kind to be found in France and other areas. I love truffles however usually don't get this kind of treat.
Unfortunately, I have found little info on the internet about these delicacies.

I'm sure I could not afford the luxury of buying fagaa anyway, even if the Saudi's sold them, which they don't. very often. However, if you ca find them to buy they cost over $2000 in US currancy a kilogram because of their rarity .

I just thought everyone would find this most fascinating truffle interesting and like to know the desert does provide delectable treats that are extremely expensive.