See Spot Find the Truffles

In Piedmont, perfection really is that simple

Sometimes perfection really is that simple, even if you let it go to the dogs.

Take Italy’s Piedmont region. The hills are green. The soil is rich, deep brown. The truffles are white. And if you know food, that’s really all you need to know.

The tartufo di Alba, the white truffles secreted away in the rolling hills around the Piedmontese town of Alba, are one of the world’s most coveted  culinary treasures.  It is only here in Piedmont that these aristocratic tubers can be said to be abundant a bounty some would go so far as to consider a blessing.

White truffles, raw and shaved paper-thin over a creamy bowl of risotto or a glistening heap of fresh pasta. From truffled potatoes to soups graced with truffles, whatever your pleasure, it’s better with truffles. These days they’re even showing up in desserts. Truffle ice cream anyone?

They have been called both earthy and ethereal; powerful and yet delicate; magically nuanced yet perfectly simple. They are the ultimate luxury food and yet their very humbleness is part of their charm. If you could sample a perfect day in early autumn, it would likely smell and taste much like a white truffle.

The fresh, true flavor, you’ll have to taste live, in season, to truly understand. Connoisseurs suggest you don’t even rinse the dirt off until they’re ready to be eaten.  In Piedmont, however, truffles are not so much a commodity as a piece of the region’s heritage. In Piedmont, truffles are not to be hoarded, and not to be skimped on, but rather to be celebrated. And what a celebration it is. At any time of year your more sophisticated gastronome would soon discover that Alba just might be the culinary epicenter of the world.

While truffles in France are sniffed out by pigs, in Piedmont, the Trifolao (truffle hunters) and their specially trained dogs, come armed in the darkness with generations-old knowledge of the land - noses precisely calibrated to sniff and dig out these gastronomic divas beneath the dirt.  White truffles, which resist cultivation and grow in the wilds under oak, poplars and willows, are harvested each autumn. 

While the dogs do the pinpointing, it is the Trifolao who chart their itinerary, often based on lore and knowledge passed down from generation to generation.  The ritual is intensively competitive and becomes the stuff of bar-room boasts in the months ahead. A cache, a route, a particularly promising area, all are closely guarded secrets that separate the mere amateurs from the true truffle-hunting pros.   

These dirty little treasures inspire people the world over to travel to Alba to smell, sample, swallow the experience

Truffle hunting season, which runs roughly from September to December, is breathlessly awaited each year by a community of cooks around the world.  Check out the exclusive truffle auction, where chefs and food lovers bid on these exquisite delicacies. The wholesale truffle market opens its doors to the casual buyer during the festival. And every restaurant menu features the underground divas, so take your pick.

You’ll find jars of truffle oils and tubs of truffle butter, tins of truffle sauce and tubes of truffle paste. Add a drop to a meal at home and suddenly you are transported back to the tiny hole-in-the-wall restaurant where you stumbled upon the best meal of your life.

After all, that’s what the best dining is about in the end: hidden gems, moments of discovery, and memories that linger, of sights, smells, tastes and experiences, that make a dish, a meal, even a place, uniquely your own.

Perhaps the white truffle is then the ultimate symbol of the perfect meal; earth’s way of saying slow down, look around you, the best things in life aren’t always the most obvious and they are often simple, but rarely easy to find.

The major Truffle Fairs in Piedmont

National Truffle Fair of Alba (Cuneo)

The truffle fair par excellence, the fair of the White Alba Truffle, the best and most expensive in the world. In November the streets of the town fill with stalls, but the heart of the event is the courtyard where the truffle market is held, and where the "trifolao" sell their own treasures.

Regional Truffle Fair of Asti

It may not be as famous as the Alba Fair, but this fair, which takes over Piazza San Secondo in October is second to none. You can taste the truffles, but more than anything you can buy them.

Truffle Fair of Acqui Terme (Alessandria)

One of the most interesting truffle fairs in Eastern Piedmont: on the third Sunday in November you can taste, eat, drink and buy.

Worldwide White Truffle Auction of Grinzane Cavour (Cuneo)

It is certainly the most glamorous event. In November, in the castle where conte Camillo Benso di Cavour once lived, a charity auction is held – it is even broadcast live to the United States by satellite link – during which international stars, from Robert De Niro to Sharon Stone, compete for the largest truffles.

For more information about the Piedmont truffle festival:

Truffle Festival Hotlines

Enoteca Grinzane Cavour:  0173/262159

Alba: 0173/362-807
Asti: 0141/399-482, 399-399
Canelli: 0141/823-685, 820-111
Moncalvo: 0141/917-505
Mondovì: 0174/559-263, 559-256
Montechiaro d’Asti: 0141/999-136
Murisengo: 0141/993-041