October and November are truffle (tartufo) season in Piemonte in northwestern Italia.  I was studying Italian in  Torino in early October and joined a few classmates one weekend.  We took a train from Torino to Alba, famous for its truffle (tartufo) festivals. in

After strolling down the Alba’s narrow streets passing wine shops, coffee shops, and cafes, we went into the tartufo festival with exhibits of truffles, wines, and foods made with truffles added including cheeses, olive oils, salts, salsas, and pastas. 

There are two kinds of tartufo, white (bianco) and black (nero).  Bianco tartufo are expensive, costing several hundred Euros for samples the size of a golf ball.  A slice of a bianco tartufo can cost 20 Euros. 

Nero tartufo are more affordable, about 20 Euros for samples the same size. 

Truffle spores attach themselves to the roots of local trees in the spring and grow through the summer.  In the fall, farmers take their dogs or pigs into forests and follow them.  When the animals smell truffles buried under ground, they’ll dig for them.  But farmers will stop the animals before they can eat them.  Sometimes they can; other times, the animals get to enjoy tasty treats they uncovered.

Mushrooms and funghi also grow in profusion in Piemonte forests, some the size of a soccer ball.

Vendors of bianco and nero tartufo display them under glass cups. To sample the aroma, a hostess will raise a glass with slits in a plastic cover and press close to your nose for you to sniff the aroma. Fragrant, with tones of fruits such as pear, melon, and honey. Subtle, but memorable. 

Vendors at the festival sell cheeses, sausages, pasta, olive oil, salt and salsa made with truffles.

I  bought several truffle treats and brought them back to Monterey when I returned in November. I’ll remember that Interesting weekend we spent in Alba sampling tartufo.

In addition to this travel blog, I write international thrillers, mysteries, and romantic suspense novels.

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