A trip to Alta Langa, where the truffle still finds its ideal breeding ground amidst the woods and the most unspoiled nature.

A unique and truly authentic experience!

Truffle Research and Peasant Snack

The tour includes:

• He searched for truffles in the woods with a real truffle hunter and his trusty four-legged prospector.
• Peasant snack with local cured meats and cheeses, a few homemade dishes, and the dish that we think best enhances the scent of truffles: a fried egg with grated black truffle (you request, and as an extra, depending on availability and period, you can ask for the prized white truffle). Of course, you cannot miss the excellent wine from the Langhe.

Program:

• One h 30 – 2h with your guide, the trifolao, and his dog, discovering the secrets of truffle hunting
• Peasant snack in the trifolao’s rural cottage with typical products, fried egg with truffles, wine, and friendliness!

Truffles in the Roero

The Roero is another of the territories of choice for searching for the prized white truffle of Alba, along with the Langhe and Monferrato.

We are 10 minutes from Alba in a tranquil and peaceful setting, ideal for experiencing the magic of truffle hunting.

PROGRAM / TOUR INCLUDES:

• At 10 a.m. or 3 p.m., meet with the truffle hunter who will lead you through this experience, letting you know all (or almost!) the secrets of truffle gathering, dog breeding, and the different seasons of this most precious mushroom.
• At the end of the truffle search, you will move to Alba for a tasting of truffle products—lots of ideas and scents. You will be able to taste excellent products and all at Km 0! It will be a good idea to take home many fragrant memories.

You can also buy white and black truffles at the market price and directly from those who search for (and find!) truffles.

Please note: The tasting will be in Alba. Research instead in the Roero area, not far from Alba. The address is given after booking.

Truffles in the Roero and super tasting!

The Roero is another of the territories of choice for searching for the prized white truffle of Alba, along with the Langhe and Monferrato.

We are 10 minutes from Alba in a tranquil and peaceful setting, ideal for experiencing the magic of truffle hunting.

PROGRAM / THE TOUR INCLUDES:

• At 10 a.m. or 3 p.m., meet with the truffle hunter who will lead you through this experience, letting you know all (or almost!) the secrets of truffle gathering, dog breeding, and the different seasons of this most precious mushroom.
• At the end of the truffle search, you will move to Alba for a tasting of truffle products—lots of ideas and scents. You will be able to taste excellent products and all at Km 0! It will be a good idea to take home many fragrant memories.
• Walk through the historic center of Alba to get to the restaurant: for you, a plate of agnolotti del Plin (do you know what plin is?) with grated black truffle and a glass of excellent Langhe wine.

You can also buy white and black truffles at market prices and directly from those who search for (and find!) truffles.

Please note: The tasting and restaurant are in Alba. On the other hand, the search was in the Roero area, not far from Alba. The address is given after reservation.

Looking for truffles in the Langhe is a truly unforgettable experience!
Certainly, autumn is the most popular and sought-after time for truffle hunting by tourists worldwide, but it is not the only possible time! Truffles are there in all seasons, and the experience is still extraordinary.

The reasons are, of course, many!

One is the Alba International White Truffle Fair, which always includes a packed calendar of events to celebrate the truffle, a highly prized mushroom.

The truffle is famous worldwide for its unmistakable aroma and for the simple dishes, it can enrich uniquely.

Truffle hunting in the Langhe. I’ll tell you about autumn

Characters and performers!

The fragrant Truffle is hidden underground. Near the roots of poplars, willows, oaks, and elder, preferably solitary trees, grows and matures the King of Tubers, Tuber Magnatum.

The preferred soil is loamy, moist, perhaps north-facing. The Truffle struggles to grow and mature if the summer is too dry. I explain these things to satisfy some curiosity. On the other hand, if you wanted to become a seeker of precious Truffle, you’d better try to “bribe” some Trifulau!

Here are the Trifulau, sharpening their “weapons” these days. They start taking their dogs to train in the morning or instead at dawn. So the dog is not distracted by noise, and … the areas remain secret!

The most colorful season, meanwhile, has arrived. The hills of the Langhe begin to dress in yellow, orange, and red foliage like a curtain that must open on the most melancholy and sweet season.

And so, let me tell you about the spectacle of the Langhe Truffle Quest. Alba white Truffle or the trifula, if you want to look like a native!

Truffle hunting in and around Alba, how it happens

You will meet the trifle and the leading actor, his dog, upon arrival.

The trifle loves nature, woods, walks, and dogs. He is quite a loner because the quest to find where the Truffle grows in the Langhe is a secret and well-hidden place. Because the Truffle King is habitual and likes to grow in the same place. And so if you find it today, you will easily find it in the next season.

His dog has been bred with affection and small truffle prizes! It is a beautiful hunt without bloodshed and with great scent spreading.

After getting to know the day’s players, you’ll be introduced to the sights, techniques, and a few gastronomic nods to the world of Truffles.

You set off on a Truffle Search in the Langhe.

It’s off to the woods to go truffle hunting. Comfortable shoes are essential! And you can feel the tension building step by step.

The voice of the trifulau inciting his dog during the white truffle search

“Come on, Come on, Bravo, more,” … and the dog moved like a cheerful and excited hound.

And then the magic moment. The dog has sniffed out the treasure. And it digs anxiously and impatiently. And here, the trifulau intervenes to calm him down: the Truffle is there, but there are two contenders: the dog who would like to bite it and the trifulau who wants to extract it gently.

Tension rises, and the tasks are divided. The trifulau uncovers the Truffle and has to take it away from the dog’s gluttony! But then the Truffle comes out of its hiding place, and we, all around, smell the intoxicating scent.

The dog calms down and receives a reward for his effort.

I hope I have conveyed to you, even in part, the beauty of this challenge and the pleasure of understanding nature as it performs.

If, as a grand finale, even you, who have searched and hunted along with the trifulau, would like your prize, the Langhe Truffle Tasting will be an excellent reward for your “effort.”

Two eggs with a grating? A plate of tajarin? The simpler the dish, the more you can taste the Truffle; this is my humble opinion!

Truffle hunting in the Langhe: Why autumn is the best season?

Because it is cold at night because there is moisture in the air; therefore, the precious hypogean fungus ripens slowly and thus gives its best when tasted.

Which then you know is all about the smell: try tasting a truffle with your nose closed; half the pleasure, or maybe more, will be gone!

At this point, someone will wonder if it is worthy of such fame; after all, it is just perfume or almost…Well, I say yes! That unmistakable scent, which I won’t venture to compare to anything else for fear of belittling it, is intoxicating, almost magical…and so at least once a year is worth paying for! You only live once.

Here we come straight to the painful notes: How much does the White Truffle of Alba cost in its best season? The price is variable, depending on the year, how much is known, and the size: the more petite or broken truffles are, the less they cost. It is reasonable to think it is around 300/350 euros per ounce. In some more difficult years, it can reach over 600/700 euros per 100 grams. During the Truffle Fair, it tends to increase because there is more demand!

But how much is one pound of truffle? How much truffle is necessary to scrape for one dish?

Let’s say an excellent, generous grating is around 6 to 7 grams, so if the truffle costs 300 euros a pound, our rich dish will cost us 18 to 21 euros. Of course, if we choose one of the many Langhe, Roero, and Monferrato area restaurants, we should expect somewhat higher figures.

Truffle hunting in the Langhe and tasting: What dishes do we pair truffles with?

The truffle has an elegant and sophisticated as well as unmistakable scent: it is essential not to cover it with intense flavors in combination; that is why the favorite and most recommended dishes are classic egg noodles (“tajarin,” perhaps the typical 40-yolk recipes) or simply with a fried egg (my favorite pairing!). Some people love it with raw meat, but I think it gives the best with hot dishes…personal taste, of course! I also find it amazing with Fondue.

What wine to pair with truffles?

Let’s say that pairing it commands the dish on which we “scratch” it, so we are safe with the critical and full-bodied reds typical of the Langhe!

But in the end, why is truffle so expensive? And the White Truffle of Alba even more so?

Indeed, marketing has played its part in enhancing the truffle, but the reason is its rarity and the difficulty in finding it. The one from Alba because it has a distinctly intense and recognizable aroma.

From this point of view, a truly unique experience is truffle hunting with a dog, accompanying the “trifolao” and his dog in search of the precious mushroom, perhaps at first light. It is exciting to witness the excitement of the dog sniffing all around and rushing into all the nooks and crannies in search of the truffle. It was very interesting to learn all the dog training techniques and to understand how to extract the truffle, which, of course, must not break.

Here, this is the dimension of the truffle that I like the most: the idea of returning it to what it is, a natural product of the earth that is not just a luxury good for the tables of chefs around the world (this aspect comes later), but a fragrant mushroom that grows underground only in certain conditions and areas and for this reason becomes rare and precious.

A product that tells us about native Piedmontese-speaking “trifolao” and dogs that understand only that “language,” about a symbiotic relationship between them and their master, and above all, about ecology and the environment. Oh yes, because nature is not defeated as long as there are truffles. The truffle is born and grows only in the woods, and it is only by preserving them that we can still enjoy this wonder of nature. The truffle has a simple, peasant soul, much less sophisticated than many gourmet products…in the end, “he” only needs an egg in a frying pan to be at his best!

I could tell you many more things about the world of truffles, the plants that promote their formation and the areas where they can be found, about the various more and less valuable types…. but I would like to leave a little mystery, a mystery just as fragrant as the White Truffle of Alba!

To learn about this world, attend a truffle search and tasting or final lunch in the Langhe…I guarantee it will be unforgettable!