Truffle hunting in Italy!!

Italian truffles are a well-known delicacy worldwide. With their pungent, almost sulphurous and sharp flavour, they are an acquired taste. Not every person can develop an affinity to them…unlike chocolates! These are found under the ground as opposed to other mushrooms that grow over ground and require special expertise for retrieval. They come in the white as well as the black variants. The white ones are the more pricier ones and are extremely delicate in their flavour. 

Having been exposed to a world of food and travel shows exploring Italy, I considered it an absolute sin to miss out on any truffle exploration during my debut visit to Italy.

I started planning for my truffle expedition about a month before I was scheduled to travel to Florence. Scouring through websites of truffle hunters, online reviews, discussion forums – I shortlisted one such hunter – Giulio and got it touch with him. A few email exchanges and the tour was finalised. He was good enough to offer us a good discount as well.

  

A one view chart on various truffles found in Italy

Florence was my base destination for my Italian sojourn. While it is most famously known for its art galleries and statuettes, my itinerary was principally aimed at exploring the food culture and specialities around. Visiting the vineyards in Chianti, exploring an Organic cheese farm, the local food markets were some of the other items on the to-do list. I hope to elaborate more of them in my forthcoming write-ups. I had my German friend for company who I sort of forced into sharing my food interests but I am happy to say, I did leave her in a happy state after our food trips.

Black Truffles - freshly hunted by us

Giulio – The Truffle Hunter, as so he is famously called resides in a small town on the outskirts of Florence. It is pretty easy to get there by bus, which takes barely a half hour. We had co-ordinated with him prior to leaving Florence and he was there at the other end to receive us. He comes across as a person extremely passionate about two things, first - truffles and second - his dog, Edna who is the principal character in the picture of truffle hunting with Gulio.

The Lovely Truffle hunting dog - EDNA

As the history of truffle hunting goes, pigs were traditionally trained and used by truffle hunters owing to their keen sense of smell for these smelly fungi. However, it turns out, the pigs were quite messy at their job and used to leave the woods in shambles when hunting. Norms were changed and dogs started featuring as truffle hunting animals. They could be better trained and were considerably well behaved. Edna is once such special dog. In fact, we were told that Truffle hunting trained dogs could almost be valued at anything between $20,000 – &30,000. Quite a price for a dog but then again, the price of a single truffle are such that the trained dogs would make quite a fruitful investment. Another fascinating fact about truffle hunting is that you need to be licensed to hunt and sell truffles.

Giulio accompanied us to a small hill where we were to understand more about these delicacies and hunt for them with Edna. Giulio left Edna to follow her instincts and her sense of smell. She wandered off in the woods with the rest of us following her slowly. She wasn’t to be disturbed. It wasn’t long before she stopped at a place covered with moss and started a digging movement. Swiftly, we saw Giulio pull her away from that spot and start digging with his spade. He dug out a small black charcoal like thing from the ground and behold – was the first ever Truffle hunted by us. He explained that if he had let Edna dig it out, she would have eaten it up as apparently, dogs and pigs like Truffles. Edna found 5 more truffles in succession and also ate up one of them in the process. Well, she did deserve the treat. After all, she did help us find the truffles.

After a couple of hours in the woods and understanding a bit more of the flora in the woods, we headed back to Gulio’s place where we were taught the intricacies of cleaning, storing and selling truffles. It may seem like a hobby to some but truffles is serious business. There are quite a few varieties and depending on the season, climate and location, these are found in the region. The inner veins when the truffles are sectioned help their identification. Gulio’s knowledge was like a Science lesson in truffles.

A section cut of the black truffle revealing the internal make-up

Lovely lunch of truffles and wine

As promised by Giulio, we were treated to lunch at his home with almost everything (except the wine) having truffles. We gobbled up warm, handmade bread with shavings of truffles followed by pasta with truffles. For dessert, we were offered Ice cream with shavings of truffles, something that I would not have even considered as a food pairing. I chose to try the rather conservative alternative of a wedge of Pecorino cheese drizzled with Truffle infused honey. The combination was an instant blast of flavours. The sweet honey combined with the strong truffle was something unimaginable but intensely flavoursome. I even bought a bottle from him to take back home.

Warm bread with shaved truffles

It was time for us to bid goodbye to Giulio, his wife, Edna and a cat that he had rescued. As a parting present, we were handed two small truffles as takeaway gifts, something that we were absolutely delighted about. 

While I am not sure when will I get to try my food experiments on truffles again (as they aren’t that commonly available in India), I do hope to taste them again soon maybe on my future travels.

Truffle infused honey - simply delightful

Truly, travel is one way of best ways of gaining a deep-rooted understanding of different cultures round the world.

The Gujarati - Food Connection

Ok. This is a simplistic take on Gujarati folks around and their food preferences. No harm meant to Gujju’s [as all Gujarati’s are called commonly] and I hope it will be taken in a lighter note although if you analyse, most of it is true and applicable.

How many times have you observed a tourist – be it in any Indian city you have visited or any international location? Have you taken pains to observe the tourist? If you have and if your “subject” is a Gujarati – the identification is extremely simple.

Armed with their staples of Khakhra’s [Roasted flat bread] and thepla’s [Spiced flat bread] – they are easily spotted in any crowd. Gujarati’s love travelling but more than that - they love and care for their food. Honestly, being a Gujarati, I can safely say – we Gujju’s are born with an inherent love for food.

FAFDA GANTHIYA

THEPLAS

 To Gujju’s, it is as important as breathing to have their Gathia’s and Fafda’s at hand when travelling. After all, these are practical snack foods – dry and no- fuss. But, it is also important to carry a supply of thepla’s, dry chutney mixes and maybe some Bhel mixes [Rice crispies and spices] as well just in case someone gets hungry mid- route. Don’t get shocked if you come across a Gujarati armed with food on your travel expedition who offers you food as well. Gujju’s love sharing food and nothing pleases us more than the fact that others appreciate the food and the gesture. We care dearly for our food.

Most of the Gujarati’s I know carry a bag full of food that can feed an entire army for a week with them when travelling. It is by no offence to other cuisines, but it is just inherent in our genes that we cannot do without the Gujarati cuisine for more than a week. Something just goes haywire in our system without it.

It is also very common for Gujarati’s to actually judge a location they travel to beforehand for the variety of food there. The staples are always carried, mind it but it is crucial for them to know if there are any restaurants in the location they travel to that can offer food similar to their taste. [This mainly applies in cases of international and the focus is more for Indian food, but still]. And in case you find a restaurant serving a Gujarati thali somewhere, that’s heaven! A Gujarati Thali is one to be enjoyed and I am sure all Gujju’s will have their personal favourites on this one.  My personal favourites are the lunch thali you get at Status at Nariman Point and another restaurant named “Agasiye” in Ahmedabad. The food at both these places is simply finger licking.

THE GUJARATI THALI

The phenomenon is also visible in the tour offerings by the travel companies here. Have you noticed – Gujarati’s prefer travelling on tours that offer Indian / Gujarati food? How many times have you seen Gujarati’s shy away from International travel from certain locations mainly owing to food issues? Quite a few – at least, in my experience.

I have a slightly different take on the Gujju concept of lugging bagfuls of food when travelling. I prefer sampling the local food available when abroad and enjoying the varied cuisines. My mom however, doesn’t seem convinced of my ability to survive on exotic foods and so, packs and makes me carry khakhra’s and homemade sweets when I travel abroad. Of course, I refrain from telling her that most of it gets given away of left in the hotel where I stay.  No offense meant to her or Gujarati food, but I just don’t like khakhras.

Of course, my food tastes are far more varied. I like Gujarati food, but am not a die hard fan of khakhra’s, Ganthiyas, Dhokla’s, Undhiyo etc. My parents find it strange to note my lack of enthusiasm for Gujarati food [Like theirs I mean] but I prefer dabbling in global cuisines. It can be a one-time attempt, but there is endless food to be sampled.

DHOKLA

 Nevertheless, you will not find a more devout food lover than a Gujarati. Food is a passion and a life-line in any situation for us. Simplistic, healthy and easy enough, its one of the most appreciated cuisines in India and is catching on at the International level.