Life in truffle hunting, North Italy

Truffle or tartufo is a delicacy of North Italy. This type of mushroom cannot be cultivated. They are ectomycorrhizal which means they need to grow next to trees. Truffle grows underground near trees through a process call mycophagy for spore dispersal (small animal they feeds on fungus spread the seeds as they crawl underground). Roberto our friendly truffle hunter tells me that while this still holds true many have tried cultivating them without much success. In France for example they have successfully cultivated black truffle, Italy tries the same and the result is encouraging. It is very important to find a terrain that best encourage such cultivations. They are still efforts made to cultivate white truffles however no known success cases have been recorded.

It was the French in the 18th century that cultivated the consumption of tartufo in their dishes. The name tartufo or truffle in English means 'the diamond of the kitchen'. White truffle are rare and is highly priced sometimes even higher than gold. Black truffle is more common. Truffle hunting is a lonely job. One need to hunt alone with specially trained dogs for hours before you find any truffle treasures.

Roberto Milani life as a truffle hunter in Merana, Alessandria, North Italy has a very interesting beginning. For Roberto it all started when he met his wife Simona who was already an established truffle hunter over 10 years ago. He learn from his mistakes over the years, some he said were very painful. It was not always a smooth journey learning to become a truffle hunter. To be a good truffle hunter you must have good 6th sense which can only be acquired through practices. There are no proven formula to follow to find priced truffles. Truffle hunting relies on having good truffle hunting dogs. These dogs are highly priced and protected by their owners. For centuries it was believed that only one type of specie is good for this job they are the mongrel dogs. Yes you read right mongrel dogs. Now we know they are good for something. In recent years new species has emerged through truffle hunters own training. Roberto's best dog is a cross-breed 'Bracco-pointer'. He bought her when she was a young puppy and trained her himself. Roberto has a few dogs and he is constantly looking for new ones to train, watch the results. This form part of his truffle hunting research and development.

Observing Roberto work we are convinced that apart from 6th sense you will need to be very brave as well. Truffle hunting requires many hours of trekking through woods. Often requiring a truffle hunter to walk for miles inside. Certainly you will need good compass and sense of direction to find your way out once you set out. We asked his wife Simona whether she was afraid to hunt on her own and discovered that she only hunt solo. In fact all truffle hunters hunt solo as they have their own secret destinations marked in their mind where priced truffles can be found.

Another skill is the ability to train your dogs. This is the most challenging part of being a successful truffle hunter. Without a well trained dog, you will never find any truffles. Roberto spends hours in the forest with his dogs. He brings one or a few dogs with him on his truffle hunting trips. A truffle hunter needs to keep tab on their dogs as they may accidentally break a truffle with their paws digging into the ground therefore they will bring the number of dogs they can manage. It will be costly to damage a prized truffle. Imagine how much time is needed to train one dog. Everyday if the sky doesn't pour Roberto is somewhere in the hills of Merana. He knows his woodland by the back of his hands. He is either truffle hunting or training his dogs. He definitely do not need any compass to find his way.

If you love nature and hiking then truffle hunting should be on your Italian holiday in North Italy to do list. This is not a strenuous hiking trip, it is leisure and you most definitely have time to smell the flowers. It is also a wonderful holidays for your kids to teach them about nature. Many kids today are brought up in the cities therefore they do not have the luxury of touching nature. Some kids cannot tell the difference between a donkey and a horse. Which is quite sad really.

We learn that they are two types of white truffles (tartufo bianco) and many, many types of black truffles (tartufo nero). Each types are found under different types of trees as well as soil. Roberto said the clay-type of soil usually yield the best white truffle ( tartufo bianco). He showed us into the hills of Merana walking through mud, clay soil and unchartered territories.

To go truffle hunting you will need a minimum of 3 hours as you need to cover quite a large area on foot. If you do not have 3 hours you can do it in 2 hours too. The dogs are set free to sniff for truffles an experienced truffle hunter is able to tell when their dogs found something. The love between master and dogs are unquestionable. They are one team! One important factor in such an occupation is to make sure that your dog is not poisoned by jealous competitors.

 

WHAT YOU CAN EXPECT ON TRUFFLE HUNTING TRIP

1. A beautiful day trekking through the hills of North Italy. You will come across some of the most amazing landscapes nature has to offer.

2. Witnessing the beauty of dog and master relationships and how they seem to 'talk' to each other in a language only both of them understands.

3. Learning about the forest and how it provides for us.

4. You won't be hunting truffle during it's peak season. No truffle hunter will take you. This is the season when they are busy making a living. If they are willing to take you then you can decide for yourself whether they are truly a good truffle hunter. Yes, truffle hunting trips for us tourists is after truffle season which is between October till December. Is best for you to plan before October or after December.

5. At the end of the day have a truffle dish at dinner. Usually black truffles unless you are prepared to pay for white truffles. Even then it is not guarantee there are in stock at restaurants. The best way to enjoy truffle is to shave them over fried eggs (sunny side up).

 

 

Roberto provides his truffle hunting service to Agriturismo Verdita in Merana, Alessandria. This is the only Agriturismo farm stay in this town, you cannot miss it. Plan your Italian farm holidays in Piedmont Italy with a stay at a lavender farm and day out trekking with Roberto.

 

For Quick and Easy Guide use Amazing North Italy sitemap to find information

 

 

 

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