Barefoot BloggeR

Inspiring Life & Travel in France

Barefoot BloggeR

Inspiring Life & Travel in France

The Hunt for White Truffles

If you haven’t discovered the Barefoot Blogger’s “sister site”, please do — BarefootBloggerWorld.com . Follow the adventures and missteps of the Barefoot Blogger in the world beyond France. Yes, there are those places!  This post is on BarefootBloggerWorld.com right now, along with tales of Nepal, Istanbul, UK and more. I’d love to hear your thoughts about the “world” site as we’re on this journey together. Enjoy!

*********

Mystical, Magical Truffles. Alba’s White Truffle Festival

 

 In 3000 BC Babylonians searched for truffles on their beaches and in their sandy desert.

 Love Goddess Aphrodite spoke of their aphrodisiac power.

Mythical legend says truffles appeared where Zeus’s thunderbolts hit  the ground.

Cicero deemed them children of the earth. 

White Truffle Festival
White Truffle Festival

 

Early October through the end of November, the white truffle is the main attraction in the town of Alba, a piedmont city in the Langhe region of Italy,  close to where a large portion of the world’s truffle crop is grown.  The Alba White Truffle Festival brings together buyers and sellers for an extraordinary food event that takes over the town — from the truffle market to restaurants, to specialty stores and pizza shops.

 

 

From classical times until today, truffles have been hunted, savoured and treasured by noblemen and Popes, kings and connoisseurs.  The white truffle is the most highly prized and known truffle because of its taste and commercial importance. It lives in symbiosis with the roots of trees and is rarely found in combination with other truffles. A white truffle crop appears below ground and is usually harvested from September to December with the help of trained dogs or pigs that can smell the truffles through a layer of earth. Retail prices in the U.S. for the Italian white truffle have reached $1000 and $3000 per pound. Most truffles are harvested in the wild and since the wild supply is diminishing, prices continue to climb.

 

Sale of white truffles at Alba White Truffle Festival
Sale of white truffles at Alba White Truffle Festival

 

White Truffle Festival 

For this year’s White Truffle Festival, visitors from all over the world clambered through the streets to reach the exhibition site.. They filled every shop and cafe through the downtown area of Alba from morning to night to dig into all sorts of truffle delights.

 

img_0239

 

Truffle selection on Alba restaurant menu during the White Truffle Festival
Truffle selection (Tartufo) on Alba restaurant menu during the White Truffle Festival

 

 

Parma UNESCO Creative City of Gastronomy 

A highlight of the Truffle show for the Barefoot Blogger was the Parma UNESCO Creative City of Gastronomy cooking exhibition. There I was invited to sit “ringside” by the organisers, Parma Alimentare, to watch some of Italy’s top chef’s create haute cuisine dishes from simple Italian ingredients — the ones that make “Parma” synonymous with famous cheese and pork products.

 

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

 

The Menu 

Truffles were not on the featured menu, yet Chefs Antonio Di Vita of Parma Rotta and Filippo Cavalli of Osteria dei Mascalzoni presented the best Culatello you can buy and dishes made with the finest Parmigiano Reggiano.  Delizioso!

 

Antipasto: Culatello

Yes! It's OK to use your fingers to eat this antipasto.
Yes! It’s OK to use your fingers to eat this antipasto.

 

Primo: tortelli di erbetta

img_0284

Secondo: punta di vitello ripiena

img_0290

Dessert: dolci al cucchiaio and meringa

(Persimmon)

img_0296

Wines

Azienda Agricola Palazzo: Brioso  

and
Cà Nova: Malvasia DOC 

 

 

Eating White Truffles!

So did I taste white truffles? You bet I did! From pasta to the most amazing pizza.

img_0206

 

img_0207

 

Yes, that’s with egg and cheese. Eat your heart out!

img_0212

 

Markets and festival activities went well into the night. 

 

Visitors to Alba's White Truffle Festival filled the streets into the night.
Visitors to Alba’s White Truffle Festival filled the streets into the night.

Until next time …

Buon Appetito!

 

img_6095

 

 

 

 

Day trip from Uzes to the Cevennes

Stay Updated

Get the latest scoop delivered straight to your email!

Recent Posts

Popular Destinations

French Footsteps

A series of posts dedicated to helping Americans seeking to expat in France

Destination: Abroad

Destination: Abroad When I mention that I call France my home, people always have questions.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

More Adventures