THE secret is out and Central Highlands' new Secret Truffle Society doesn’t mind blabbing about it.The society, made up of a five district growers, want to share the secret of the different varieties of truffles available in the Australian market.Established recently by local truffle growers Lynette and Andres Haas, Ian and Merilyn Woodhouse, David Le Blanc, Sue and Sharon Daly and Georgie Patterson, the society wants to share the love of the fungus with the rest of the world.“We want to educate the public’s palate about truffles, because there is a lack of understanding about what a truffle is,” Mr Woodhouse said.“Many people think it is a luxury food that they cannot afford. Truffles are not as expensive as you may think. A typical dinner may cost $5 to $12 per person, depending on the variety.”A truffle is a fungus that has a symbiotic relationship with a host tree, in the Haas’ case oak trees on their Wattle Flat property. Truffles have been successfully cultivated in Australia for 15 years and are available between June and August and again in December to February for the summer variety.Truffles are generally harvested with dogs, which undergo months of training to sniff-out the fungus. There are many truffle products available on the market, including oils, honey, cheese, tapenades, mustard, eggs and salt.More information is available from www.secrettrufflesociety.com/