Truffles are
the fruit of underground mushrooms which grow among the roots of a few very
specific trees such as oak, hornbeam and
birch.
Many attempts have been made to cultivate them commercially, with very
little success.
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| White truffle from San Miniato |
There are
around 1,400 licensed truffle hunters in Tuscany, each hunter has his own
territory and secret truffle-rich locations are written down in the hunter’s
notebook, and passed from one generation
to the next.
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| Truffle hunting with clients |
Generally speaking the renowed areas for truffle hunting in
Tuscany area: San Miniato a hilltop town village looking down the misty Arno
valley and San Giovanni d’Asso a small village perched on a hilltop in the
scenic area named Crete Senesi or as Dante defined it, the Desert of Accona.
Surely more
popular the first town, less known off the neaten paths the second where the
locals used part of its medieval castle to open a museum devoted to truffles.
Until the
1970s in Italy pigs were used to hunt truffle but had a strong tendency to
gobble them before the hunter could intervene.
Today dogs –
such as the Lagotto breed- are considerably less attracted and therefore less
likely to snaffle such a worth fungus, plus hunters and dogs form an
inseparable team for ever and it makes sense to hear stories of the best dogs
being stolen or poisoned and hunters spying on their competitors’ high-yielding
grounds.
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| Hunting dog.. |
When a
fresh truffle emerges from the ground and is cut, it gives off a distinctive aroma
not easy to define: garlic, hay, honey.
The prized
white truffle, sometimes called the white diamond of Italy, grows from
September to December. And the late spring sees the waning days of the
bianchetti truffle, a milder one, is found
widely throughout Tuscany.
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| My friends doing truffle hunting |
Regardless
of the season, skillful hunters and their faithful dogs will help us finding
some delicious truffles during our truffle hunting followed by a gourmet lunch
with the possibility to take part to a cooking class to understand better how
prepare this precious fungus.
Join me for a private day tour including a truffle hunting and a cooking class.
Check this out: http://www.cooltours.it/truffle-hunting-in-tuscany
