Roxanne Reid - Africa Addict
  • Home
  • Book author
    • Travels in the Kalahari >
      • Photo gallery: Travels in the Kalahari
      • Book reviews: Travels in the Kalahari
    • A Walk in the Park >
      • Photo gallery: A Walk in the Park
      • Book reviews: A Walk in the Park
    • The Essential Guide to Self-Editing >
      • Book reviews: Essential Guide to Self-Editing
    • Betrayed
    • Book reviews online
  • Editing & proofreading
  • In the media
    • Travel features
    • Health features
    • Online media
  • Blog
  • Testimonials
  • Links
  • Contact

Kalahari truffles

19/5/2010

26 Comments

 
By Roxanne Reid
​
We’ve been coming to the Kalahari since I was in my twenties and we’ve fallen in love with it over and over again. But one thing we’ve only heard about till now is the Kalahari truffle. Now we’re in possession of four of these nuggets.
We’ve followed spoor in the dunes with a San tracker, we’ve driven endless miles along soft sand and consumed countless cups of coffee while waiting at waterholes for stuff to happen. We’ve seen lightning and thunder showers, even hail. We’ve seen the veld lushly green and we’ve seen it during drought years, the dry grass as brittle as a holocaust, the animals’ skin draped tightly over their ribs, scores of carcasses dead from drought or easy prey to lazy lions. But one thing we’ve only heard about till now is the Kalahari truffle.
Kalahari truffles from the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park
Now we’re in possession of four of these nuggets, which my plant book tells me are loaded with fat, protein, fibre and B vitamins. Our source – who, in the best European tradition, shall be nameless – had a small pile of them, his own private stash. He keeps them buried in the sand so they remain cool, damp and fresh.

Amazingly, though the surface of the sand is as dry as a bone, you don’t have to dig far to find the dampness that sustains the truffles, known locally as n’abbas. ‘There was a big hail storm three weeks ago and that was very good,’ our Truffle Man tells us. ‘They’re hard to find if you don’t know what to look for, but easy enough when you do.’ And that’s where the conversation stops. Like any self-respecting French or Italian truffle hunter, he’s not going to give away his secrets.

He does suggest how we should cook them, though.

Scrub all the sand off and then boil them whole or slice them and fry in butter. Knowing how bland boiled food can be, we decide to do a fry-up in butter instead, adding a dash of freshly ground black pepper.

​And suddenly we know what all the fuss is about. They’re delicious; in texture and taste, a cross between a firm mushroom and a flavoursome potato, but somehow transcending both. Perhaps it’s because they’re so quintessentially ‘Kalahari’ that they seem so special, perhaps they really are in a class of their own... 

Copyright © Roxanne Reid - No words or photographs on this site may be used without permission from roxannereid.co.za
26 Comments
Abdullah
25/12/2017 02:22:42 pm

Is it the same as the desert truffles available in North Africa that Arabs eat?

Reply
Roxanne
25/12/2017 08:56:15 pm

I'm not sure, Abdullah, because I've not had a North African truffle, but these are definitely desert truffles so they're probably very similar.

Reply
Abdullah
25/12/2017 09:15:30 pm

Thanks for replying. Do you have photos? Do you know people who are in the area and I can contact them regarding this?

Situmbeko Collins
28/4/2020 11:33:24 pm

I have Kalahari truffles for quick sale. +260 965 238723 /+260 955 238724

Reply
Theun Duvenhage
19/6/2020 05:00:29 pm

I to buy some. Please let me know

Heleen van der Westhuizen
9/5/2018 02:37:53 pm

Good day

Where can I buy Kalahari Truffels?

Heleen

Reply
Roxanne
9/5/2018 03:39:45 pm

Probably only when visiting the Kalahari, Heleen. I've never seen them anywhere else and they're not sold commercially as far as I know

Reply
Mario Links
13/5/2022 08:48:54 pm

I have some available 060 600 8599

Reply
Sonja link
14/5/2018 12:25:07 pm

Hi! This year we had good rains in March and April, and then 14 to 21 days after the rain you can start to look for !Nabas. We locally love the !Nabas, doing a few dishes with then. We also have the !Naba Food & Wine Festival in Upington end August. This year festival goers will be able to buy vacumed packs of !Nabas and taste !Naba Pate and soup.

Reply
Roxanne
14/5/2018 01:20:01 pm

Great update, thanks Sonja.

Reply
Abdullah
23/5/2018 07:18:47 pm

Thanks sonja. Is there someone or a company I can contact regarding buying the !nabas or visiting the places where I can find the truffles?

Reply
Heinrich
28/9/2019 01:16:47 pm

Do you guys buy these truffles and how much do you pay

Reply
Roxanne
28/9/2019 09:42:49 pm

No, we didn't buy them, Heinrich, they were a gift. I have no idea how much you would pay even if you could find someone willing to sell them to you.

Reply
Leroy
15/3/2020 12:23:07 am

Feel free to contact me.my family has a farm where ntsaba is in excess.

Reply
Abdullah Mubarak
15/3/2020 12:36:01 pm

How I can contact you? +966555200876 for WhatsApp
+966568008186 for calls

Reply
Katrina M. Garises link
9/4/2022 11:06:10 pm

I saw some people who are interested in Kalahari Truffles //nabas just start in my Region contact whatsapp +264813637659

Lee
12/5/2020 09:18:35 pm

Nice van waar is jy?

Reply
Joseph
1/7/2020 09:37:34 am

Hallo Leroy
I am in Kuruman and Hotazel end of july for a few days.
Are your family farm in that vicinity? I would love to get some !Nabas

Reply
Abdullah
1/7/2020 11:23:37 am

hi Leory

Please contact me in my mobile or whatsapp +966555200876

Reply
Callie
17/4/2021 01:24:01 pm

Hi Abdullah, we have been harvesting truffle from last week. How much do you need?

max busch link
15/3/2021 12:51:54 am

hi i am from namibia and wil have kalahari naba/ truffle for sale by end of april 2021. contact me by email if interested @ [email protected] or watsapp +264815620858

Reply
Abdullah
19/4/2021 05:18:16 pm

You can contact me directly on my whatsapp +966555200876

Reply
Bee-Jay
30/3/2021 12:39:52 pm

When I was just a boy. The Germans used to travel to our farm and bought the Kalahari truffles from us. I did not know the value of the truffles until recently. I will have truffles available by the end of April. Kindly contact me in +264818094596 to place your order. I'm based in Namibia.

Reply
alwin busch
21/4/2021 07:41:07 am

hi callie what is your contact number?

Reply
Callie
21/4/2021 10:24:52 am

27829275638

Reply
Saima
29/5/2021 10:05:29 pm

I also sell truffles commercially in Namibia

Reply

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    Get email links to the latest posts

    Buy my books
    Travels in the Kalahari, amazon.com e-book
    E-book 2012​

    A Walk in the Park, amazon.com e-book
    2nd ed e-book 2015
    The Essential Guide to Self-Editing, amazon.com e-book
    E-book 2017

    About 

    I'm an independent travel writer and book editor with a passion for Africa - anything from African travel, people, safari and wildlife to adventure, heritage, road-tripping and slow travel.
    My travel buddy and husband Keith is the primary photographer for this blog.
    We're happiest in the middle of nowhere, meeting the locals, trying something new, or simply watching the grass grow.
    Use this website to discover new places to go, revisit places you've loved, or take a virtual tour of destinations you only dream about.

    Categories

    All
    Baviaanskloof
    Books
    Botswana
    Camping
    Cape Town
    Chobe
    Conservation
    Drc
    Eastern Cape
    Etosha Namibia
    Food
    Free State
    Garden Route
    Gauteng
    Issues
    Kalahari
    Karoo
    Kenya
    Kruger National Park
    Kwazulu Natal
    Lesotho
    Limpopo
    Linyanti
    Madagascar
    Malawi
    Mozambique
    Mpumalanga
    Namaqualand
    Namibia
    Nature Parks
    Northern Cape
    Okavango
    Overberg
    People
    Photography
    Richtersveld
    Tanzania
    West Coast
    Western Cape
    Wild Creatures
    Zambia
    Zimbabwe

    Archives

    June 2025
    May 2025
    April 2025
    March 2025
    February 2025
    January 2025
    November 2024
    October 2024
    September 2024
    August 2024
    July 2024
    June 2024
    May 2024
    April 2024
    March 2024
    February 2024
    January 2024
    November 2023
    October 2023
    September 2023
    August 2023
    July 2023
    June 2023
    May 2023
    April 2023
    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011
    November 2011
    October 2011
    September 2011
    August 2011
    July 2011
    June 2011
    May 2011
    April 2011
    March 2011
    February 2011
    January 2011
    December 2010
    November 2010
    October 2010
    September 2010
    August 2010
    July 2010
    June 2010
    May 2010
    April 2010
    March 2010
    January 2010
    November 2009


Copyright © Roxanne Reid - No words or photographs on this site may be used without written permission from roxannereid.co.za

Privacy Policy, GDPR and POPIA compliance
​* We promise that we take data safety seriously and use your private data only to offer a personalised experience
* If you subscribed to our newsletter, you will receive our newsletters. You can always unsubscribe by following the link in email or by emailing us
* If you gave us your name, it will only be used to personalise the newsletters
* We have never sold, we are not selling, and we will not sell any of your personal data provided to us
* The blog uses cookies to track activity. It is anonymous except for telling us your location and what you did on our blog
​
Photos from berniedup, Lucy_Hill