In the western Iraqi province of Anbar, house to the reddish, smaller iteration of desert truffle often known as hargi, truffle hunters needed to cope with the risk from Islamic State. In dedicated markets stretching from Al Salman to Baghdad, hunters and merchants arrive earlier than daybreak to peer at squat stacks of truffles piled on blankets and brimming in baskets alongside the street. A method is to soak the truffles in ice-cold water to push the sand from the cracks, then use a toothbrush to painstakingly tease out each last bit.
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