Truffle History

Since ancient times, on the threshold of history, the truffle was used. The Sumerians, the Greeks, the Romans, the lords of the Renaissance palace courts, politicians and diplomats of the modern and contemporary age, but also artists and writers, have seen exceptional qualities in the truffle, a source of inspiration, play, passion, taste and unparalleled pleasure. The Roman poet Juvenal became so infatuated with the truffle that he affirmed that “it was preferable that the wheat was missing rather than the truffles”. The musician Gioacchino Rossini called IT "The Mozart of mushrooms", the English writer Lord Byron was inspired by the intense scent of the truffle, keeping it scrupulously on his desk, while Alexandre Dumas called it the "Sancta Santorum of the table". Over the course of history, the Savoy family even organized truffle harvesting, Cavour used it at a diplomatic level to weave fruitful relationships.

A historical constant is that the truffle has always been very expensive and considered very precious. All the more reason the truffle par excellence, the most prized one: the Tuber Magnatum Pico, that is the very truffle we collect and sell ourselves, the White Truffle of Alba. Being able to bring such a product into people's homes fills us with enthusiasm and pride.

WHITE TRUFFLE (TUBER MAGNATUM PICO)

Harvest period: September / December

Use in the kitchen: sliced on raw meat, fondue, tagliatelle with butter, risotto, fried eggs, tuma d'Alba.

It is a spontaneous fungus that grows underground (underground fungus), drawing nourishment from the roots of plants (the most common: Oak, Lime and Willow). It lives in symbiosis with the tree it binds to: since the truffle is unable to self-provide the nourishment it needs (it has no chlorophyll), it takes it from the roots of its host (symbiont); but the ratio is also advantageous for the tree, because the fungus gives it water and precious mineral salts. A truly wonderful relationship of union and exchange, favorable for both. There are various species, but the most valuable is the White Truffle (Tuber Magnatum Pico) with a globose and irregular shape and a color ranging from pale yellow to ocher. It is crossed by various branched whitish veins. It can vary in size, from those of a walnut to over a kilo. When ripe, white truffles have an unmistakable scent in which various aromas are perceived: garlic, hay, wet earth, honey, mushrooms and spices.