Black autumn truffles

We've all heard of truffles.  They're touted as these super-expensive, ultra-fancy, only-rich-people-or-crazy-foodies-eat mushrooms.  I've heard folks suggest that those who eat truffles are also the ones buying $1000 caviar topped pizza or a $25,000 ice cream sundae. 

Well, hold up on the truffle judgments.  Because, after spending a month hunting, shopping for, and cooking with truffles in Tuscany, I firmly believe that truffles shouldn't be reserved for the super rich (especially because they don't have to be all that expensive) or the ultra foodies (because doesn't everyone like good food?).  Truffles should be something enjoyed by everyone because they transform the simplest food into something spectacular, all without breaking the bank.

Black and white truffles

What is a truffle?

A truffle is a mushroom that grows under the soil.  Most mushrooms --- criminis, shitakes, button, and portobellos, for example --- grow above the soil in moist climates.  Truffles, on the other hand, grow several inches under the soil, meaning that you could walk over a hundred truffles without ever knowing that they were there.   In addition, it is not easy to cultivate truffles as we cultivate other mushrooms and vegetables because truffles need a forest environment and do not grow with systematic consistency as other mushrooms do. 

Truffles grow primarily in the regions around Italy including France, Slovenia, and Croatia, though there are also varieties that grow in China and the northwestern parts of the United States.  In Italy, there are nine varieties of truffle and five of those varieties are grown in Tuscany.  The famed white truffle --- the key item in the world renowned Alba White Truffle Festival --- is grown only in Italy.

It's difficult to explain the flavor of the truffle.  It's kind of like an intense mushroom but without the pungency that most mushrooms have, a little bit sweeter, and stronger but more delicate all at the same time.  I know that sounds like nonsense so, let me try again: a truffle is about as close to culinary heaven as I can get without delving into waistline-building desserts.

Prices for white truffles and 400 Euro white truffle

Why are truffles so expensive?

Let's talk about what expensive means.  Truffles range in sizes from teeny ones no bigger than a fingernail to potato sized giants.  Prices are set by the truffle association in Italy, though prices can be upcharged if sent outside of the European Union (meaning that you're going to spend way more on a truffle in the United States than in Europe.)  Those little ones that you see at the top picture above sell for 10 Euros for four truffles, 18 Euros for nine truffles and so on.  On the other hand, the massive potato-sized truffle pictured above sold for around 400 Euros at a market in Cannes, France.  We were standing next to the man who purchased this truffle and when the shop attendant brought it out, every other scent at the market was eclipsed by the scent of this amazing truffle.

So, all this means that, yes, you can spend a ton of money on truffles but you can also spend a very moderate 10 Euros and get enough truffles to make two dinners.  Patrick has easily spent $14 USD on a single really high quality New York strip steak and we spent about the same for two meals worth of white or black truffles in Tuscany.

Edda and the process of finding a truffle; us with Edda and Giulio

All about truffle hunting

Giulio is a third-generation truffle hunter.  Born in the Piedmont region, the "best place for food in the world," he says, Giulio never planned to do anything other than truffle hunting.  He spent several years studying to be a truffle hunter and then passed an exam to do so; all Italian truffle hunters must be certified to enter the forest and search.

Giulio has the Italian passion for life and food, punctuating his words by waving his hands and leaning on his heels as he speaks to us of the economics of truffles.  "We're always looking to find different ways to make money," he says, explaining why he offers truffle hunting tours.  There are two other truffle hunters who offer tours in the Tuscany region while the rest of the truffle hunters --- approximately 2,000 or so in Italy --- focus on gathering truffles and selling them at markets and directly to dealers.  Giulio spends one day each week on a tour and the other six with his dog Edda, roaming the forest in search of the delicacy.

Edda is simply a beautiful dog, born and bred for this particular pursuit.  Giulio whistles for her every morning and they head to the 500 hectacre forest near his home.  He lets Edda off her lead and she sticks her nose to the ground.  Every ten minutes or so, she hauls off, running as fast as any other dog would run to chase a rabbit or squirrel.  But, she's chasing a scent.  She's chasing the scent of a truffle she's found from up to 10 yards away.

At first, we didn't believe it: Edda suddenly sniffs, hales off, and Giulio runs quickly behind her to find the spot where she's pointing.  The spot looks like any other spot in the forest to us, but if Giulio doesn't catch up to Edda in time, she will dig into the dirt and eat the truffle herself.  He arrives and gives her a portion of her breakfast and, while she munches happily, he digs a shallow hole with a special trufflehunter's trowel.  Within a few seconds, he has revealed what looks to us like a clod of dark dirt.  He praises Edda and, if it is a particularly small truffle, will give it to her to eat.

"I have to encourage her," he explains, "so she will want to find more truffles."  Edda trained for six months in a special truffle hunting school and then for a year on the field.  She will be able to hunt until she is around seven years old or so, because after that time, it may become difficult for her to move around and she will be retired from the field.  Every day, Giulio feeds her about five grams of truffle while she is hunting and in her dinner.  That's the best fed dog in the world, I think!

Edda and Giulio search every single day for truffles because they are mapping the entire forest, ensuring that they come back next year to the same spot to see if another truffle has regrown there.  Truffles regrow three to five times in different seasons and, on the day we searched with Edda and Giulio, Giulio noted that Edda remembered a few of the spots where they had looked last year.  Giulio's biggest competitor and threat is not other truffle hunters but rather the wild boar, which has a better nose for truffles than the dogs and will rip apart an area of a forest in search for the delicacy.  (Indeed, these animals proliferate in Tuscany and are one of the most common regional specialties.  In autumn, pappardelle al cinghiale (literally, pappardelle with wild boar) is on every trattoria menu.)

. . . keep reading truffle tutorial after the jump