White and Black Truffles: Diamonds of the Kitchen

Jim and Lynette Romagnesi • Aug 04, 2016

If you have ever travelled through Northern Italy during the A utumn months you surely would have been touched by the infectious excitement that runs throu gh the towns, restaurants and deli's, as they celebrate the arrival of black and white truffl es ( tartufi in Italian ). Many towns will have a truffle festa or 'sagra' and if we are lucky enough to be running our tours at the same time as one of these sagra del tartufo, we to can take part in the joy these little round fungi cause.

Do you remember what it was like looking for four leaf clovers as a child? Busily searching through the grass in the hope that you will find one, which in turn will mean you will have good luck for the rest of the day(as a day was a long time in childhood!). On the occasions you did find one, oh how exciting that was! Then you moved on with your day and threw the clover away.

The excitement of going truffle hunting is akin to that childhood experience except that you don't throw the truffle away!

On our 15 Day Fine Food Wine and Wonders tour, we give you the opportunity to go truffle hunting with our friend Giorgio and his faithful dog 'zara' in Monferrato. On day 6 of this tour, after a morning in the Barolo wine region we take you to Giorgio's truffle grounds in search and gathering of white and black truffles amongst his wonderful woods of oaks, poplars, lindens, will0w-trees and hazels.

IAfter being out in the woods, we are made to feel welcome in Giorgio's home by his partner Grazia. Grazia prepares our 'findings' for us to taste while we sit back and relax in their kitchen. It is always a lovely afternoon, mixed with the excitement of a new experience and warmth of the hospitality of Giorgio and Grazia.

Back in 2012, we have our largest black truffle find yet!

The slow unearthing of the truffle!

Giorgio digs a little more as we watch on.

The excitement builds!

What a beauty!

Giorgio and Grazia with some of our guests on our 2012 Fine Food Wine and Wonders Tour.

Some facts about truffles:

Truffles are used in fine dining around the world and considered a delicacy in European, Mediterranean and Middle Eastern cuisines
They are the fruiting body of a subterranean fungus that grow as the result of a symbiotic relationship with the roots of trees
Fetching up to $US3,000 per kilogram, the white truffle is the most expensive edible fungus, followed by the black truffle
The scarcity of truffles is the reason for their high price - they require very specific conditions to grow, are low-yield, and have a short harvest season
Specially trained pigs and dogs are used to hunt for truffles due to their keen sense of smell
It is thought that the smell of truffles resembles that of androstenol, a sex pheromone found in boar saliva, explaining the attraction for pigs
German researchers found the pheromone was twice as abundant in truffles as it was in the blood plasma of boar