The tuber magnatum or precious white truffle season starts proper at the beginning of October. However in the weeks before, premature specimens will pop up here and there, an announcement of things to come. These are the fioroni truffles and while they often look just like their mature counterparts, they are a world apart.

When handled, fioroni truffles may feel lighter than you would expect and shaving them over your dish will reveal that the texture is woody. Rather than soft, delicate slivers of pliant flesh, the fioroni truffle will slice into unbending, brittle pieces that crumble and snap.

The colour of the flesh is wrong. The outside of a truffle can vary in colour, some truffles are golden, others are more brownish than their name would give you to  believe. Whatever the wrapping, it is the inside flesh that should be fairly standard,. A mature truffle has a light to dark beige flesh (or gleba ) with cream-coloured veining. Fioroni gleba is too pale in colour or may be a greyish shade with pink overtones .

It is the aroma of fioroni truffles that is the real giveaway. They lack the intense scent and the robust flavor that make this rare species so sought after in the culinary world. In a best case scenario they are vaguely reminiscent of the real deal, in the worst, they taste stale with hints of ammonia.

To make matters worse, early stage truffles do not keep well. Regular white truffles already have a very short shelf life, but the fioroni are highly unstable. These truffles will further deteriorate to the point that within a matter of days they are unusable. Problems are compounded if they are exported log distance to Asia, America and Australia. If you have a truffle with all or some of these characteristics then you have been sold a fioroni.

Unfortunately if you buy a truffle early in the season it is likely that you will indeed be sold a fiorone. The pre-season product is definitely not the culinary gem you expect when you order a white truffle, Usually the fioroni make way for better quality truffles around the start of October, sometimes earlier depending on where they are hunted and the year in question. For example, the 2023 white truffle season did not start well and as we moved into the latter half of October, the majority of truffles being found were still fioronati.

Although more and more companies are opting for transparency, there is still a distinctly shady side to the truffle industry. So as long as there is an opportunity for profit, then these immature truffles will end up on the market place. Fioroni truffles are hunted, bought by dealers and passed off as fully mature ones. It is not a crime and it is easy for dealers to do this. White truffles are so expensive that very few people get to deal with large quantities of them. Without the data to form a comparison, it is hard to tell if a truffle is up to par. How many customers have the experience to know for sure that they have been underwhelmed by a truffle? It is hard to rate one if this is your first and most of us are more comfortable with staying quiet rather than appearing ignorant. Likewise it is not a great feeling to suspect you have been duped, it is a lot easier on the ego to to blame our taste buds. So the practice continues, disappointing customers and undermining trust and reputation in the industry along the way.

If you think that you have bought a fioroni, then take photographs or a video of the truffle in question and contact the dealer who sold it to you. You should be offered a refund or a replacement truffle for later in the season. If your dealer won’t budge then you may have to consume the truffle and you will certainly have to change dealer. Although fioroni will not have the culinary allure of mature whites, they are edible so you can use them in dishes like truffle butter or sauces to infuse the mild truffle flavor. Put it down to experience and in future if you are having truffles sent to you, then perhaps wait until late October when the quality of truffles is more stable. Get to know your dealer, there are plenty of decent ones out there and in the meantime help yourself to avoid these kind of scams by learning what you can about the product you are buying. The following video is a good place to start.

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Those working in the sector have to be prepared well in advance unless they want to risk disappointed customers. The global truffle industry is no exception as the product is in great demand during the holiday season. In Italy, it is common to give white truffles as a gift. The tuber magnatum is often the star of a luxury hamper sitting as the centrepiece surrounded by a mouth-watering array of cheeses and meats. This sort of delicatessen selection is frequently gifted to business associates and the bigger the truffle the better the impression the giver will make. As well as being a fancy present, truffles are part of many a Christmas dinner. It is one of the most important meals of the year, so why not push the boat out? What with presents and meals to sort out, small wonder that hunters, traders and sellers are mad busy in the run up to the holidays.

Even now, a full week before Christmas Eve, truffle sellers have stocked up for the buying rush. This means again that when demand is high, quality plummets. Buyers will need to be lucky to get hold of a fresh, fragrant truffle. There is a world of difference between a 9-day-old truffle and a 24-hour one. Top chefs know this as they have the experience to differentiate between truffles. Their discerning noses ensure that chefs will get the cream of the crop. The worst of the crop are then sold to the unsuspecting home cook. This really seems offensive considering the high prices that white truffles command. It also offends many hunters on a personal level. When you actually worship truffles and think about very little else, you want others to share the joy. It becomes more important to spread the thrill of a sublime gastronomic experience than to make a killing on the Christmas market. Some sellers have more scruples but many care little that their lacklustre stale offerings will be a huge Yuletide log of a disappointment for some unlucky customer.

As hunters, we don’t work this way. It is not our job – our concern is to go out and find fresh truffles every day. We are not interested in stockpiling truffles and we don’t play the market. Our truffles are sold fresh within a day of being harvested or, in the worst case scenario, the following day. When they are gone, they are gone. As with nearly everyone in the food industry, we work harder than ever over the holiday. Unless it is pouring with rain, hunters do not enjoy the traditional Christmas dinner as they will be out hunting with the dogs. This means that over the period we will be able to provide our customers with the freshest truffles on the market. If you find this interesting and would like to pre-order, we can reserve truffles for you as they are found. To see photos of the day’s batch and select which truffles you would like, email me at julie@realtrufflehunters.com

Merry Christmas to you all!

*Unfortunately because of covid 19, there have been a number of shipping disruptions. This means that the final guaranteed dispatch date for Christmas (Europe outside of Italy) is December 22nd 2020. This will be with DHL. For New Year, orders will need to be shipped by December 29th 2020. Supply will depend on the weather conditions. We are accepting pre-orders from 18th December on a first-come, first-served basis.

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The question is akin to asking for the secret recipe for the pies someone sells in their family bakery. The person asking the question is overstepping the mark, not the person refusing to give a straight answer. If you think about it, what gives you the right to ask someone to turn over the details to shen beginners start out truffling they will often approach experienced hunters for information on their new hobby. Most hunters will be glad to talk about topics like dog training and the best digging tools or the sturdiest boots. However when novices begin to ask where they can find truffles, they rarely receive the details they wer nature?omething they worked hard for years to achieve? You are asking to share in their livelihood with no input and no effort on your part.

Still the reasons for truffle reticence run deeper – it is not only about the money. Codes guard all professions and most experienced hunters take their trade seriously. Just as a magician is never supposed to give away the secret to a trick, a serious hunter will never reveal the secrets to where truffles grow. Performers who tell the audience how to saw the lady in half will be hounded out of the magic circle and scorned. The same code of silence exists in the truffling brotherhood. Hunters want to be respected by their peers – one way to achieve this is to master the work, another is to abide by the professional codes. So if you want to learn where truffles grow you won’t find out from hunters. They guard their hard-earned truffle patches far too jealously.

You might want to turn to books for advice about where to start out. Find out as much as you can from the many great books on the market. They may make for fascinating reading but these books won’t turn you into a truffle hunter. Ultimately, with truffling as with most professions, you learn by doing not by reading about doing.

Relying on books is also problematic in that they are cagey and sketchy about the details especially regarding precise locations. The description of truffle ecosystems found in books are usually the standard, written in general terms or refering to entire regions that would take months to explore. Truffle books tend to be written by scientists. Hunters generally avoid writing books to avoid loss of face. Scientists will carefully explain the growth factors required for truffles to develop, hunters know that this means zilch. You can have all the growth factors in the world, it doesn’t mean you are going to find a truffle. Truffles are elusive and fickle and this is a huge part of their attraction. But stick with books, they will help you recognize the kind of areas you need to look out for.With time and experience, you will learn to narrow these down.

Then one day when you are least expecting it, you will experience a sudden feeling of triumph as you stumble upon a likely clump of trees. A feeling which is heightened when the dog starts to paw at the ground. It stops digging and you kneel down in the dirt and start to search yourself. You are looking for a white tip peeping through the earth. Then you see it, the first sign of the truffle. Your heart leaps. You gently remove the soil trying to gauge where the truffle starts and ends. How far down does it reach? You trace around the truffle firmly with your finger while your heart is firmly in your mouth.

No matter how many years you have been doing this, your heart will always be racing as you unearth a white truffle. But you must stay calm, you need to extract it slowly and carefully. Breaking a truffle will cost you dearly. Some truffles may be entwined in the roots of its host tree and then the operation is painstakingly delicate.

You manage to get it out of the ground in one piece and the adrenalin gives way to relief as you put it in your pocket. Relief and then further exhilaration when the realisation hits you – you have found a new spot. You will go back there next week and every week until the season ends. You burn the location in your mind, you will return next year and the year after that and the year after that. You haven’t just found one truffle you have found a golden goose.

It is often said that truffles themselve are addictive.  This is debatable, but they do produce a substance called anandamide – a compound responsible for the release of mood-enhancing chemicals in the human brain- so maybe they are. The addictive nature of truffle hunting seems easier to prove. Of course, money is involved but if you have ever hunted for truffles you will quickly see that there are far easier ways to make a living. What truly drives truffle hunters is the thrill of the chase. Asking for locations defeats the purpose, if you are not hunting for the challenge, then you don’t get it. If that’s the case,then you probably won’t make it as a hunter. Trufflers become obsessed during white truffle season. They are on a three-month-long non-stop treasure hunt and the only break comes when it rains. You need massive reserves of energy to hunt like this. Asking for free snippets of information smacks of laziness and with this shortcoming, chances are you would be a lousy hunter anyway. So you might need to rethink your purpose.

Flattery is often a handy means to get people to let down their guard. It doen’t work with most truffle hunters. Few hunters will take you along for the ride because you are fascinated by the topic or want to write an article about them. Hunters want to make a living doing what they love, they don’t want recognition. Those that do have to check their ego. Boasting leads to disclosures and anyone with an overt fondness for talking about their achievements won’t last long as a truffler.

That is why truffle tours are a ridiculous premise, Conan O Brien, Oprah Winfrey, I don’t care who you are, no truffle hunter will take you to the place where he or she hunts for a white truffle. O’Brien has definitely smelt a rat when he jokes about the ‘hunters’ burying the truffles before he showed up.

All that happens on a truffle tour is that you get to see a truffle dog at work. You will watch as it sniffs out and digs up a truffle. This is well worth watching, it is always impressive to watch the dog’s sense of smell in action. Just don’t confuse it with the real thing.

In reality, learning the hard way is the only way to find truffles. Now I know there is a disappointing lack of concrete information in this post, but that is the point. Noone will tell you where to find truffles but if you are interested I can tell how to find them. The way to find truffles is to go out and hunt for them. Get an idea of the areas they might grow in, take your dog, get your boots on and prepare yourself for weeks, maybe years, of disappointment. It takes time and patience, determination and many miles exploring the furthest flung corners of nature, tramping through forests in the damp of autumn. The truffles are there and you will find them eventually. Then people will approach you wanting to know where to find truffles. And you won’t tell them. Truffles are hard won and when you finally unearth your first, you will understand why this sort of information is not given away freely.

The post Where Can I Find White Truffles? appeared first on The Real Truffle Hunters Ltd .

This is a pretty big question and the answer could go several ways. White truffles do have a rather mysterious aura surrounding them. Disappointingly, this post aims simply to clear up some of the confusion and misinformation about white truffles on the market.

There are dozens of species of truffles in nature and, of these species, several are classed as white. The term in itself is misleading as these truffles are never pure white. Instead they may be cream, grey, beige or even ochra in colour. Of these ‘white’ truffles, there are two which are both edible and available on the general market in Europe. The first white truffle is the tuber borchii, it is known as the spring white truffle or bianchetta. Italians also refer to this truffle as Marzuolo because it peaks in the month of March.

It first appears at the end of January and by late April it has disappeared. It can be cultivated, tastes pretty good and is about one sixth of the value of the other more famous white truffle – the rare tuber magnatum.

Also known as the Alba truffle or the autumn white truffle, tuber magnatum can be found from September. It peaks in late November and is off the menu by mid-January. It cannot be cultivated, tastes divine and can cost up to $6000 per kilo. This price depends on supply that season and is also influenced by where you are in the world. Generally the further you move from Europe and the further along the supply chain you get from the hunter, the more expensive the truffle will be.

It would be difficult to confuse autumn and spring white truffles as they do not grow in the same season. They also look quite different especially when cut. The autumn truffle has more delicate veining and the flesh is not as dark as that of the spring truffle. Their aromas and flavours are poles apart. The autumn white truffle is intoxicating, incomparable while the spring truffle is far more subtle.

There may be greater grounds for some confusion in the area of truffle products. Manufacturers are within the law if they call a product white truffle butter without specifying which species of white truffle has been used. A quick glance at the small print will often reveal that it is tuber borchii in the butter, not its more expensive cousin. As tuber borchii is a relatively mild truffle, the flavour of the product will usually be enhanced. The enhancer is invariably synthetic truffle oil thus rendering the whole truffle experience artificial.

A more contentious issue surrounding white truffles is that of the Alba truffle. It was believed, although this misconception is gradually changing, that these white truffles were somehow different to other white autumn truffles. This is not the case, Alba truffles are the regular tuber magnatum species, not some sub-species. They just happened to be found in the Alba region of Italy.

It must be said that the conditions around the area of Alba in Piedmont are superb for the precious white truffle. However the reason for Alba’s proclaimed truffle superiority has little to do with the setting and more to do with enviable marketing skills. Back in the 1950’s while other truffle growing regions were sleeping on a gold mine, visionaries like Giacomo Morra were busy promoting their product. Morra owned a restaurant in Alba and he saw within this dirty tuber the potential to become an elusive luxury product. More than a restaurant owner, he was a marketing genius and his groundwork ensured the town of Alba will always be linked with the white trMorra’s simple but effective advertising campaign created the associations between the white truffle and sex, power and wealth that exist to this day. He achieved this by awarding the Truffle of the Year to the most important celebrities of the era. These were the world leaders – Churchill, Truman and Kruschev and the glamorous sex symbols, women like Monroe, Hayworth and Loren. Morra created a buzz, gourmet chefs took note and the rest is history.

Other truffle areas were able to cash in on Alba’s success but paid a price, for their tardiness – their white truffles might be just as good as Alba’s but they may never have the same glamorous connotations. The Alba prestige has unfortunately lead to various subterfuges. According to Ryan Jacob‘s book The Truffle Underground, only 25% of truffles with the Alba label are indeed from the region. The point is that noone is any the wiser, Alba or not, they are the same truffles!

So that’s it really – on the European market you will come across two species of white truffle. The autumn truffle is far superior in taste and also a good deal pricier than the spring tuber. The autumn truffle is a tuber magnatum and these are often called Alba truffles. In all probability an Alba truffle is not from that place at all. The place of origin is usually modified to justify a higher price tag. If you can get past the blatant trickery then it doesn’t really matter that much. There has been a lot of hype over the years but in reality there is no difference in taste. Welcome to the curious world of the truffle.

The post What are White Truffles? appeared first on The Real Truffle Hunters Ltd .

This wasn’t the biggest truffle they found this morning but it was probably the prettiest.

Dog hands over to hunter

The day started at first light. Truffles have been thin on the ground until now but today there were signs that the season is picking up. In the photo above you get a close-up of a truffle which has just been exposed. This one was found at around 11am today (4th November 2019)  by John and Reggie. Reg picked up the scent on the air, went over to the spot and began to dig. An experienced dog is cautious and doesn’t start pawing away furiously. A scratched truffle is less valuable so the dog has to be careful and know how far down to dig before handing over to the hunter who will begin the delicate extraction work.

The truffle hunter has a special tool, a small instrument called a vanghetto which he or she uses to gently move the earth from around the truffle. White truffles must first be loosened from the surrounding roots otherwise they could break. The truffle in the picture above would be fairly easy to extract as the ground is soft and there is little in the way of entanglement.

This truffle was easy to unearth

Once the truffle has been unearthed, the hole must always be refilled and carefully covered. Failure to do this puts future truffle growth at risk, spores or immature truffles exposed to air will either dry up or rot. As well as this, empty holes are a dead giveaway that the area is a known truffle spot. A good truffle hunter leaves no trace behind.

Trufflers often work in pairs. A second set of hands can be useful when you need to both

unearth truffles and manage the dogs

Here you can see the hunter’s special tool – the vanhetto, two happy dogs and a near perfect truffle!

Once a truffle is dug up, it is wrapped and kept in a cool bag which the hunter carries over his shoulder. This bag also contains dog snacks. Reg is a big fan of sausages and so that is how he gets paid for his part in the collaboration. At the end of the morning, the truffles are taken home where they are brushed, weighed and categorized. Any truffles that will be sent abroad are packed on ice and sent via DHL Express. Hunters grab a quick lunch and go out again until it gets dark. If the morning dogs seem tired there is a change over and a fresh pair of legs.

Back at home truffles are cleaned (not washed),weighed and categorized.

This season got off to a very slow start and white truffles are still in short supply. This means that prices are quite high for November which is usually the cheapest month to buy white truffles. The Acqualagna Exchange (Borsa) set the prices for white truffles this week as follows:

Pieces weighing 0-15 grams – 1,700 euros per kilo

Pieces weighing 15- 50 grams – 2,400 euros per kilo

Pieces weighing 50 -100 grams – 3,100 euros per kilo

These are the prices in Italy and the further away customers are, the more they can expect to pay. For example, UK prices for the same week would be around 300 euros more per kilo across the board. US customers would pay more than double the price. Urbani, for instance are currently selling 50 gr of truffle at around $7,000 per kilo.

When it comes to the special large pieces or giants, they will have their own individual price tag. Generally speaking the larger the truffle, the more it costs per kilo. Truffles are priced in a similar way to diamonds. A prize truffle weighing one kilo has been known to fetch up to 100,000 euros at auction. However one kilo made up of small truffles under 15 grams each will cost a fraction of that price (1,700 euros if you bought them this week).

The smaller truffle weighs around 20 grams. at 2,400 per kilo it would cost about 48 euros.

Looking ahead, there’s rain forecast for the days ahead which means that supply will drop even further. Extremely wet weather makes it impossible for the hunters to go out which might drive prices up even further. And make truffles even more difficult to find.

If you are having problems sourcing fresh truffles, we might be able to help, so feel free to contact us.

The post Hunting For Today’s White Truffles appeared first on The Real Truffle Hunters Ltd .

Beautifully coloured, perfectly shaped truffles are all well and good but it is only really size that counts. As the ultimate status symbol a massive truffle is usually not sold through the conventional channels. These mighty truffles often become a news story and then are either sold at auction or given as a gift to a famous person. Through this subtle promotion stunt the white truffle and glamorous celebrity have become indelibly linked in the mind of the public.

Before we look back at some of the record-breaking truffles that have been found over the last 65 years we need to get some perspective with these nice but very average truffles.

Now please feast your eyes on this.

Truffle fans should know this by now: No good white truffle story is complete without the Godfather of the Alba Truffle, Giacomo Morra. Here is the marketing genius back in 1954 with a monstrous truffle which is reported as being 2.250 kilos. This truffle was sent off  to Harry S. Truman no doubt to enjoy over his favourite chicken and dumplings.

The following decade, this morose-looking fellow stumbled across a massive truffle. Unfortunately, white truffles cost a fraction of what they do nowadays, so truffle hunter Gennaro Vicentini was not about to get himself over excited. There is no report of what happened to the truffle but we do know a little about Gennaro. He had been taught the art of truffle hunting by his father Sante (1874 – 1958). Gennaro then passed on the knowledge to his son Mario whose son Alfredo became one of the founding members of the Truffle Academy of the Po Delta.

A few years previous to the exciting Po Delta discovery, this enormous beast had been found. The truffle made headlines by fetching the massive sum of 65,000 lira.

The exchange rate was $1 to 625 lira meaning that this whopping truffle was sold for the not so princely sum of $104. This would be worth around $847 in 2019 which is perhaps why Mr. Vicentini doesn’t look especially enthralled with his enormous truffle.

It seems that no one was willing to try and top Gennaro’s picture with his 1,650 gram truffle judging by the scant images from the decades which followed. Until in November 1999 that is, when this glorious beast was recorded. Mr. Giancarlo Zigante from Livade, Croatia is the man looking vaguely pleased with himself. Here we see him posing with a 1.31 kg.truffle which he and his dog Diana found in the Motovun forest near Livade. Giancarlo made sure his find was listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as the biggest white truffle ever found (and recorded) in the world.

The record-holding truffle was christened Millennium and could have sold for a phenomenal price at auction. Instead the truffle ended up as the main ingredient in a fine dinner hosted by Zigante for one hundred special guests. The event attracted much media attention and thus began the promotion of Istrian truffles. Livade established itself as the truffle capital of Croatia and to make it official the Millennium truffle was cast in bronze.

Zigante established himself as a businessman, he owns a restaurant, truffle processing plant and a hotel. The bronze truffle replica is exhibited in Giancarlo Zigante’s specialized shop in Livade.

Here he is now.

The post The Biggest White Truffles Ever Found. appeared first on The Real Truffle Hunters Ltd .

As usual, this year’s festival will be held in the town centre of Acqualagna, Le Marche and will run over three weekends. Starting on Sunday 27th October, the festivities come to a close two weeks later on Sunday 10th November. Certain events and exhibitions run for the duration of the fair however there is also a programme of daily events. The culinary aspect of this year’s programme comprises cooking shows, tasting, wine-pairing and workshops. There are also organised trips into the surrounding countryside, lectures, exhibitions, concerts sporting events and some historical pageantry. In short there is something for everyone. Advance booking is necessary for many of the events and the contact number is (0039) 333 1116908. Lots of events are free of charge but when this does not apply, prices are given in the description below.

Chefs

Every year the Acqualagna festival is honoured to welcome Italy’s finest chefs. The chefs host a cooking show in which they create a sublime dish using fresh white truffle. The lucky guests get to share chef’s secrets and then taste the end product

Among the chefs appearing this autumn are Valerio Ferri, Pietro Leeman Cristiano Tomei, Claudio Sadler , Luigi Sartini,, and Mauro Uliassi.

Permanent Events

For the duration of the festival there will be a huge truffle market. As well as truffles and truffle products there are numerous stalls offering a huge range of gastronomic specialities, truffling equipment and crafted products. This market is held in Piazza Mattei in front of the Acqualagna Truffle Museum and sprawls out into the surrounding streets. The museum itself is open from 10 am to 7 pm daily and the exhibition ‘The Truffle Experience’ is one of a kind. If you want to learn about truffles as opposed to just eating them, then this is the ideal place to enrich your knowledge. There really is no other place on earth with so much information about truffles under one roof. https://www.youtube.com/embed/iP5al4-4JtI

At the Archeological Museum on Corsa Roma there is a unique exhibition of photographs spanning five decades. Entitled ‘Acqualagna Truffle Capital, 50 years of the Fair, History, Men, Passion’, the exhibition offers a captivating insight into the role of the white truffle and truffle hunter in the town’s proud history.

Photo Exhibition (Permanent)

Should you prefer to learn about truffles using a more hands-on method then luckily for you, there are daily truffle hunting lessons in the Park of the Republic between 10.30 and 16.30. These lessons are geared towards children and their families and  are lead by expert truffle hunters from the local area. 

Learn how to hunt for truffles (Daily)

The Programme (Day by Day)

Sunday 27th October

Sunday sees the inauguration ceremony at 10:30 am. That evening at 17:30 Cristiano Tomei from L’ Imbuto restaurant will be in the Taste Salon. If you would like to see Cristiano in action and sample his creation (raviolo with fermented bread and wild herbs, seasoned with seaweed butter and white truffle) the cost is 15 euros and includes tasting and wine pairing. Places will need to be pre-booked.

Friday November 1st 

The three-day weekend kicks off with both the Truffle Trophy Bowling Championship and the Ducati Motorcycle rally in the morning.  if you are interested in exploring the natural beauties of the local area, then a guided tour of the Furlo Dam starts at 10:30.

Try to get back in time for 12:30 when cooking blogger Rosella Errante will demonstrate her recipe of lasagne with truffles and Casciotta d’Urbino cheese. Rosella uses an innovative method cooking in a vacuum sealed jar.

Rosella Errante 1/11/19

A master-class in pasta making followed by tasting takes place at 3pm, participation is 10 euros. If you don’t know how to make homemade pasta, then it is probably time you learnt. Once you have mastered the technique, you will open all kinds of doors for exquisite stuffed pastas, delicate lasagnas and other mouth-watering delicacies.

Later on at 8 pm chef Pietro Leeman from Michelin-starred vegetarian restaurant Joia in Milan will be in the Taste Salon. Here he will inspire you by cooking fondue with diced mushrooms and truffles , Brussels sprouts , artichokes and Jerusalem artichokes stewed in butter, toasted walnuts , crispy rice and Tuscan kale wafers. Tasting and wine pairing cost 15 euros. After the show there will be a presentation of  Leeman’s book The code of vegetarian cuisine.

Pietro Leeman 1/11/19

There will be live Dixieland Jazz this evening in Piazza Mattei.

Saturday 2nd November

The Furlo Gorge

If you missed yesterday’s trip to the Furlo Dam there is another one today starting at 10 am. In the afternoon at three o’clock there are two events to choose from. The first is the free children’s cookery class ‘Hands in the Dough’ organised by the Professional Association of Italian Chefs. 

Children’s cookery classes

The second event is a cooking show featuring chef Antonio Ciotola Then at 6 o’clock, the guest in the Salon is the only Michelin-starred chef in San Marino,Luigi Sartini of Ristorante Righi.

Luigi Sartini 2/11/19

At 7 pm ‘Talk Show’ will begin with the actor Neri Marcoré being interviewed by Lorenza Fumelli editor of ‘Agrodolce’ (Sweet and Sour).

Sunday November 3rd 

There are several events to choose from on Sunday. At 11 am, the designer Brunello Cucinelli will be giving a talk entitled ‘Beauty Will Save the World.’ Then at 12 pm you have another chance to take part in a  pasta-making workshop.The cost of the class is 10 euros to learn techniques that will really hone your cooking skills. Tasting follows.

At 3pm the special guest chef at the Taste Salon is Claudio Sadler from Restaurant Sadler in Milan. He will be demonstrating his own recipe
raviolone with egg yolk with raspadura, Jerusalem artichoke and truffle butter. Tasting and wine pairing will ensue and the cost is 15 €. 

The second guest chef of the day is the three Michelin-starred Mauro Uliassi of Restaurant Uliassi. As yet the details of his dish are under wraps, but it promises to be a rare treat for the lucky visitors who get to watch Chef Uliassi at work and then to sample the end product. This event costs 40 €. 

Saturday November 9th

The final weekend of the festival begins on Saturday at 9am with the 1st Truffle Challenge, a historic archery tournament.
Then at 3pm head to the Taste Salon for the event ‘Best of the Apps’. The event begins with talks about thr 2016 earthquakes that devastated many regions of  the Apennines. The focus will be the effects the disaster had on small local producers. The talks will be followed by ‘Taste of the Apennines’ a tasting of local products such as Maiale Brado di Norcia.

Maiale Brado di Norcia 9/11/19

Also in the afternoon at 3pm is the children’s cooking class ‘Hands in the Dough’. Then at 6 o’clock Max Mariola from Gambero Rosso Channel
will be in the tasting salon creating his recipe – Club sandwich with fresh black truffle mayonnaise, steamed cod, braised endive and stracciatella. There will be subsequent tasting, drinking and readings from the book Vini Veri, Journey into the senses.

The evening ends with a live concert by the group Karta Karbone in Piazza Mattei

Sunday 10th November

At 12.30 watch Chef Valerio Ferri from Restaurant Le Fontane in action. He will be making maltagliati of polenta and white truffle.
Cost 10 € including tasting and wine-pairing

The final pasta lesson of the festival starts at 3pm, again the cost is 10 euros.

The last cooking show in the Taste Salon will be hosted by Giorgio Barchiesi  from Gambero Rosso Channel who will demonstrate his recipe – potato gnocchi with Casciotta d’Urbino and white truffle
This costs € 15. 

This year’s festival looks set to be the best yet so I do hope to see you there. For further information regarding the fair and other topics such as accommodation in the area, contact the Acqualagna Tourist Board

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These kind of headlines do two things – they drive truffle hunters insane and they warp the public’s  perception of the value of a white truffle (tuber magnatum pico). In real life the cost of white truffles  is nowhere near so exorbitant. Consumers can expect to pay a much more reasonable price of between three and six thousand euros per kilo, depending on where the truffle is purchased (how far from Italy) and the year (prices fluctuate annually).Wherever the place and whatever the year though, you can be sure that white truffles will be one of the most expensive foods you ever buy. We’re going to look at ten reasons why this fungus costs so much money. 

1. White truffles don’t grow everywhere

The areas where white truffles grow are few and far between. Unlike their black counterparts, they have yet to be cultivated which means they are only found in the wild by hunters with specially trained dogs. Most of the white truffles are hunted in five or six regions of northern Italy, the most famous being Alba in Piedmont. A little known fact is that the majority of Italy’s truffles grow in Le Marche, with around two-thirds of the national crop (which is around 60 tonnes annually) originating in the regions around Acqualagna. White truffles have also been unearthed in countries such as Romania, Slovenia, Croatia and Serbia. Although the species found abroad is identical, most connoisseurs would agree that the Italian climate and terrain produce a superior truffle.However this is something of a hot topic to be discussed in another post.

2. The places where truffles grow are very difficult to access

In our area, the majority of places where white truffles grow are quite literally dark, damp ditches in an unforgiving forest in the middle of nowhere surrounded by thick brambles. White truffles are very unique hence they only develop in a very specific, unusual microclimate. When I went on my first truffle hunt I was expecting something akin to a pleasant hike in the forest and had even packed some sandwiches for the trip. I got a very rude awakening that cold winter’s morning as I went sliding down a precariously steep embankment on my backside, ending up in an icy stagnant pool with my arms entangled in the undergrowth and a spaniel sitting nonchalantly on my head. Great times. More often than not you will spend 5 or 6 hours trekking through these delightful picnic spots only to come out scratched to hell and caked in mud with perhaps 15 grams of truffle or even nothing at all to show for it. You get in the car wet and miserable, eat your stale panini and drive home to face the scorn. Then the irony is that you can’t wait to get up the next day and do it all over again. 

3.Truffles are only available for a short period of the year

The white truffle season does not last very long at all. Peak condition white truffles are available from early – mid October to the end of December. Truffles grow from early September and can be found in January (sometimes all the way to early February) but the quality is generally so poor that they should be avoided. Besides the fact that these truffles will be a poor imitation of the beautiful peak season specimens,we should also mention that it is illegal to hunt for truffles outside of the season designated by the regional Forestry Corps.. Please truffle fans, let’s try and preserve the species !

4. They don’t keep for long

Truffles are only fresh for about a week and from the moment the hunter digs them up, they begin to lose their unique perfume. This means they have to be transported quickly using the most expensive means available in order to be eaten as soon as possible. As the white truffle is highly sensitive, any variations in temperature or problems such as a flight delay can result in the loss of thousands of euros worth of product and sadly this happens on a regular basis.

5. Only specially trained dogs can find them

One of the hardest parts of being a truffle hunter is training your dog. Yes, you can buy a trained truffle dog  starting at around 4000 euros but you may not know what kind of dog you are getting and what methods have been used in its training. 

There are a lot of advantages to teaching your dog yourself from when it is a pup.This means that hunters can spend years working with their dogs to bring them up to scratch. The animals need to be trained lovingly and good hunters realise that there are no short cuts. Training your own dog requires charisma, effort and above all patience as some dogs (especially males) won’t start sniffing out truffles till they are about two and a half years of age. And even then as my uncle Alberto says ‘Some dogs hunt, some dogs piss on the tree.’

 A lot of animal lovers worry that truffle dogs are being exploited. My advice would be to try to see the dogs in action even if it is just a video. It makes sense for hunters to choose breeds which seemingly have an innate love for what they do. Athletic dogs which are never happier than when they are out on the hunt. There are exceptions, of course but  the majority of  hunters value their dogs almost to the point of worship. They are proud of them and take great care of the dogs. Probably the hunters’ biggest fear is that anything should happen to their canine partner. In our family, the dogs work really hard with us and in return they are treated like royalty. 

6. Big truffles cost more per gram

The price of white truffles is calculated per gram and varies according to at least 4 categories of weight. So a truffle in the range of 1-15 grams might sell for 1 euro per gram, whereas truffles over 15 grams and under 50 will be more expensive. A white truffle which weighs over 50 grams will cost even more, say 3 euros a gram. Then there is the giant category, the showpiece which can often fetch a very high price especially if it’s also a good shape, undamaged and attractive in colour.

On an average day, we usually find small truffles in small quantities , Finding a giant truffle (over 100 grams) is quite rare and might happen once or twice a week so a lot of the time you could be out truffling and coming home with 100 grams of small truffles untill you finally hit the jackpot. In addition, damaged truffles are worth a lot less. This means we need to be very careful not to let the dogs scratch the truffle when they are digging. Also the hunter works as delicately as an archeologist so as not to break the truffle during the tricky unearthing process.

As an aside, I remember when I was a little boy, maybe 5 or 6 and my uncle Donatello wanted to tease me. The hunters were sitting in our kitchen drinking wine and that day Donatello had found a perfectly round, golden-coloured truffle that was completely intact. He held it out to me and said “Look Giorgino, I found a potato!” . I took it from his hand and threw it to the kitchen floor where it broke into three or four worthless pieces to the sound of a collective groan.

Luckily they all saw the funny side later after a few more glasses of wine. Of course, Italian families being what they are, I have never been allowed to forget this incident!

7. Truffle prices vary according to the weather

Weather conditions are the most important factor in regard to the development of the tuber magnatum pico in its pre- fruited form.

This means that some years truffles are even pricier than usual as there are fewer truffles due to that year’s temperatures and amount of rainfall. The ideal weather conditions for optimum development of truffles is rain in the months of March and April and more wet weather later on in the summer months. The reason being that summers in Italy can be so warm that if there isn’t enough rain in these months the truffle will either never grow to its full potential or never grow at all .In other words, truffles are hyper-sensitive.

Rain can also affect the availability and thus price in the autumn months. Truffle hunters are usually sturdy types who are not put off by a bit of bad weather. However November is the wettest month of the year in Italy with total precipitation often surpassing 100 millimeters. This means that there will often be days or even weeks when there are no fresh truffles on the market because all the hunters are at home going crazy waiting for the downpour to stop.

8. Climate change is real and it is affecting white truffles.

The effects of climate change on white truffles are yet to be fully understood , but Ulf Büntgen , professor of Environmental Systems Analysis at Cambridge University has come up with some very compelling data.  It shows that since the 1970’s summer rain patterns have altered significantly, droughts are occurring more frequently and temperatures are steadily increasing and that these weather conditions result in a corresponding decline in the number of truffles.The fragile natural system needed in order for truffles to thrive is under threat which means that they are getting scarcer.

9. Basic Economics

There is a great demand and a limited supply. In fact only 65% of the demand for white truffle can be met.

10. Their taste and aroma is incomparable.

I have saved the most important reason till last. If you have ever got your hands on a really fresh white truffle you will know that the flavour is like nothing else in this world,. It’s impossible to describe- the only thing comparable to white truffle is another white truffle. When people say they don’t get what all the fuss is about, I suspect it’s because they have unwittingly been served a truffle which has passed its prime.

The post 10 Reasons Why White Truffles Are So Expensive! appeared first on The Real Truffle Hunters Ltd .

1. The ‘Alba truffle’ is probably not from Alba.

Before we get onto the topic of white truffles, we need to talk about the town of Alba in Piedmont.

‘Alba truffle’ has become the generic name for the tuber magnatum pico or the white winter truffle. However not all white winter truffles come from Alba. White truffles also grow in Abruzzo, Tuscany and Aqualagna, in fact ‘Alba’ truffles can be found wherever there are suitable growing conditions. This misnomer might seem irrelevant but it is indicative of the lack of clarity within the truffle industry. Calling the truffle by its proper name would be an important step towards greater transparency and the eradication of might many more deceptive practices which ultimately harm the truffle industry.

In 2012, the Italian forestry corps ordered an investigation into the Asti truffle market (Asti is around 25 km from Alba). After months spent examining the business activities of white truffle dealers, it was found that 90% of white truffles with the Alba label did not originate from there. This and other truffle-related scams are detailed in Ryan Jacobs‘ very well-researched book ‘The Truffle Underground.”

The mystique surrounding white truffles can be appealing but it is sensible as a consumer to be armed with the facts.

• Tuber magnatum pico grow in several different regions of Italy as well as other neighbouring countries.
• If fresh, white truffles will taste and smell equally good regardless of provenance

Despite this, dealers go to a great deal of trouble and expense to import truffles to Piedmont where they are baptized as Alba natives. The Alba label has prestige thanks to the promotional efforts of restauranteur Giacomo Morra. Back in the late 1940s and 50s, Morra the master marketer was gifting truffles to the glamorous and the powerful. Kruschev, Monroe, Churchill, Loren thus linking the town of Alba with status and the white truffle as a symbol of wealth.

 Over the years there have been many boasts in the truffle community that this person with an amazing nose, or that person with extraordinary taste buds can distinguish an Alba truffle from all other truffles. There is no record of these wild claims being put to the test. For good reason. This is not wine and while the aroma and appearance of a truffle are affected by the earth it grew in and the species of trees it grew under, these factors are not standard across an entire region. So, although sophisticated lab tests exist which accurately pinpoint the birthplace of a white truffle, it seems unlikely that humans can replicate this feat.

So in short, if you are thinking of buying an Alba truffle, it is  probably not from Alba, probably not even from Piedmont. But that does not really matter and will not affect your enjoyment of the truffle. There are other, far more important considerations when it comes to selecting a high quality product.

2. Timing is really important

There’s a time to buy truffles. Don’t buy them prior to the end of the third week of September or after the second week of January. Hunting for white truffles is not permitted outside of this period .There are strict punishments for any transgressions in Italy and hunters risk fines and getting their licence revoked. Tuber magnatum pico purchased outside of this window are illegal truffles but more importantly will probably be fiorone – an inferior early season product with little aroma to speak of.

The very best time for white truffles is during November when they are at peak quality and are found in quantity. This may also translate into a drop in price, depending on the supply that year. These are the only truffles which are currently not cultivated so supply is entirely in nature’s hands.

Truffles have a very short shelf life. Ideally you should eat one within two days of purchase. If you are planning to serve it at the weekend it makes sense not to buy it on Monday – it will have lost much of its aroma by then.

3. Plan in advance how you are going to serve the truffle

If you haven’t used a white truffle in your cooking before then you are in for a real treat. First though, make sure you plan for how you will use it and source the best quality ingredients for the dish. If you are making truffled eggs, get the best free-range you can find. Truffle aroma bonds with fat molecules so use this to your favour. Prime any eggs, butter or cream by storing them with your truffle in a sealed container.

The golden rule is that you never cook a white truffle. Instead shave it thinly on top of the finished dish. If you want to experience the full flavour of the truffle, then the dish should be something very simple. Maybe a creamy fresh pasta, some scrambled eggs, a risotto or a steak. The flavours of the dish never compete with the truffle which must be the star of the meal. 

If you plan to eat truffles regularly, it might be worth investing in a truffle shaver. These are special hand-held mini mandolins that allow you to slice the truffle into wafer-thin shavings. . If you don’t have a shaver then use whatever you have in your kitchen, a peeler, a mandolin, a very sharp knife or a razor –Goodfella’s style.

Remember though – the thinner the truffle slices the better!

4. Plan for how you will transport and store the truffle

Truffles need special care and storage so if you need to travel with the truffle, make sure you have planned ahead how you will keep it cool. The optimum temperature to store a white truffle is 4 °C (39 °F) so don’t let it sit around in a warm car for example. You can use a bottle of frozen water or an ice pack in a tupperware container. Take care not to let the truffle come into direct contact with the ice though. Always keep it well wrapped up. Finally don’t let the truffle get wet.

When you get the truffle safely home, you need to take special care of it and store it properly. If you don’t overhandle it then there will be no need to wear gloves. You should definitely not wash the truffle, in fact most hunters would advise not to even clean the truffle excessively until right before you serve it. Keeping a layer of dirt on the surface helps slow down the loss of the truffle aroma.

Store your truffle in the fridge in a jar and close the lid tightly. You cannot freeze it under any circumstances. White truffles stored in rice tend to dry out and will lose their flavour far more quickly than if you store them in a glass jar. Before popping it into the jar, wrap the truffle in a paper towel or soft cloth. Don’t forget to change this wrapping once a day. The moment the truffle leaves the ground it begins to lose moisture. This will cause the papers to get damp and, in the worst scenario, mould will form.

Seal the jar well or else everything in your fridge will be imparted with a very strong aroma of truffle. This might be desirable with butter but the truffle scent doesn’t pair so well with other things in your fridge like your tiramisù.

5. Truffle colours

Tuber magnatum pico can vary in colour, depending on the ground they grew in. The most sought-after are the light yellow or golden truffles but this is just an aesthetic consideration. The colour does not affect the flavour, so darker brown, cream coloured or even greyish truffles are just as good although not as pleasing to the eye. A pinky colour is not a defect either, truffles often have light pink patches, this is not mould, this is quite normal and does not affect the quality in any way. 

The colour should only concern you if you want your truffle to make a grand entrance or to be the show-stopper, a golden globe on a velvet cushion. Otherwise don’t worry about it, you have enough to think about.

6. The shape

Another point you don’t need to concern yourself with a great deal. The truffle may be almost perfectly rounded somewhat like a potato. These truffles tend to be highly-prized in restaurants for aesthetic reasons and as they are easy to clean. Other truffles are downright ugly, knobbly, warty with all kinds of gnarly protuberances. Some truffles have holes in them usually from the tree roots which entwined them as they grew to maturation. Holes (as long as they are not soft) are perfectly acceptable. It is not uncommon to feel disappointed by the look of a truffle. But cheer up, after all this is not a beauty contest. No one buys truffles because they look good. In short, the shape of the truffle does not affect its taste. Other considerations will affect taste as we will see.

Truffles are often highly irregular in shape. This should not be your main consideration, go for aroma over a shapely form.

7. The smell

This is where things become complicated. This is the hardest information to impart to someone who has yet to try a white truffle. How do you describe the smell of something as unique, rich and intoxicating as the tuber magnatum?  Though it was many years ago, I will never forget the first time I tried a white truffle as the aroma nearly knocked me off my feet. Research into the truffle’s distinctive heady scent brings up a mixed bag of bizarre descriptions which appear to depend on the nose of the writer. For me it is a cross between forest earth, cognac, mushroom, garlic and cream.

Before you buy a truffle you will need to perform a smell test. Sniff the truffle on all sides, checking that the aroma is uniform and there are no patches where the smell appears to alter, especially if there is a hint of ammonia. Truffles have an earthy muskiness to them, but make sure the musk is not tinged and that the aroma is fresh and even. It is unlikely that anyone will try to sell you a white truffle which is about to go rotten, the greatest potential danger is being sold a truffle that is a couple of weeks’ old. From the moment it is unearthed, the truffle’s aroma steadily dissipates. If you have been sold a truffle that is on its last legs, the fragrance is no longer powerful and your carefully planned, skillfully executed meal simply won’t be that great.

8. How does it feel…?

This is a little easier than the smell test as texture is gradeable and far easier to put into words.  A very hard truffle is undesirable- it shouldn’t feel like a stone – but a soft truffle is far worse. Your ideal truffle should be firm to the touch but with a very slight give.

9. The price tag

The more often a truffle changes hands, the higher the price tag. If you can buy directly from the hunter you are more likely to get a cheaper, fresher truffle. The price of the winter whites will also fluctuate from year to year depending on production. Hot, dry summers will lead to poor magnatum yields in the autumn. In such a year, prices can reach astronomical heights. During peak festival season (mid-October to mid-November) demand for white truffles is high which will push up prices. The same applies at Christmas and New Year. Prices usually fall at the end of November and in the first weeks of December.

A cheaper product is not necessarily a good thing and I would recommend checking any truffle being sold at discount. The seller of a bargain white truffle may be in a hurry to be rid of it before it goes off. There are several common ruses which include dousing old truffles with truffle oil or storing them with fresh truffles to lend a temporary aroma. So, if the truffle is a lot cheaper than this season’s price, double check texture and aroma and ask about the age and source.

Truffles are graded according to size and priced like diamonds. An unbroken piece weighing 100 grams (A+) is worth a lot more than 20 truffles weighing 5 grams (C). Broken pieces are also cheaper too so this is a good place to start if you are looking for a good buy.

Conclusion

As white truffles are so rare and expensive, few people have real experience with them. This makes it easy for unscrupulous sellers to take advantage. I think it’s well worth learning a bit about them before you buy. It’s one of the best ways to make sure your truffle lives up to expectations and the magic that surrounds this precious ingredient.

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