Ambassadors of the REAL TRUFFLE
We shared many emails with Massimo, the REAL Truffle hunter prior to our trip, planning the visit to his home near San Miniato with his special TRUFFLE HUNTER HOUSE. Here is an excerpt from one of his emails:
Each of our truffle experience is private (its exclusive for you) because I want you to feel at home and answer all your questions, so teaching you how to recognize and how to use the REAL AND HIGH QUALITY TRUFFLES. I am proud to tell you about the REAL and high quality truffle from our area of Tuscany (so different from the “truffle aroma”, chemicals or “fake truffles”), its tradition, its history, the legends that recall its myth and its uses in the kitchen… this is my heritage and way to preserve the truffle tradition that is lost in today’s commercialized “Truffle Business”…
Out of respect for Massimo and his enthusiasm for Truffles, this blog post will utilize his same punctuation. :)
Getting eleven people out of the house and into three cars by 8:30am is no small feat. An hour later Massimo is waving us into his driveway and we hear the happy bark of his Truffle hunting dogs. We meet them, three spaniels named Pepe, Geo and Mela, bred and trained for Truffle hunting, and a lazy, gentle Golden Retriever that is just there for the love. Massimo’s property is indeed set up for hosting groups in search of the REAL Truffle. A large lawn with trampoline and children’s toys leads to a building with an open kitchen and table set for our Truffle lunch. It is nicely done and cozy, perfectly, hospitably Italian.
He chose a dog to hunt with us and we all set off again, our three cars following Massimo, Jordan and the lucky pup through the town of San Miniato to the hills beyond. We stop at a small forest right near town. Massimo explained that he tells the dog where to search and when the dog starts digging, Massimo must quickly jump in and dig up the truffle lest the dog destroy it.
After 10 minutes or so of walking, WE FIND A TRUFFLE! A small black truffle, brainy and rough on the outside, smelling of must and dirt. We take turns holding, smelling and photographing this elusive treat. A few minutes down the path and the dog leads us to ANOTHER TRUFFLE! Now we are excited! We are REAL TRUFFLE HUNTERS. A few minutes later we find an incredible, albeit a bit overripe, but even more precious, WHITE TRUFFLE. They actually look a bit gold in color and the aroma is pungent and more truffle-ish than anything we’ve yet experienced. Not only is this the first white truffle of the year, he says (it’s a bit early in the season for them), Massimo teaches us that it is the white truffle that gives flavor to everything “truffle” - even black truffle products such as oil and preserved truffles. Black truffles are not that special or valuable except for the hype and the prestige of that hype. But now, we are real truffle connoisseurs and we know the truth.
With our loot of three truffles (that eleven people have fondled and sniffed), it’s time to head back to the TRUFFLE HUNTER HOUSE for our special Truffle lunch. We are greeted by Massimo’s father (the master king expert of truffle hunting) and sister; she actually holds the title of finding the largest truffle between the siblings.
FIrst course is a pureed bean soup with truffle oil and shaved fresh truffle. Next we have homemade ricotta ravioli with truffle shavings. Simple and divine. By the second course our kids are now officially the most expensive 12& under eaters you’ve ever met. Third course is mashed potato in a crispy parmesan bowl with more truffle shavings and a poached egg on top. (You’ll have to read about the Great Italian Poached Egg debate in the next post). Lastly, we enjoyed their homemade dessert wine with a white chocolate truffle made with bits of truffle!
Our truffle hunting day was as exciting, fun, informative and delicious as Massimo promised in his first mostly-caps email. We left feeling like family, full of delicious food and good cheer. We are now truffle snobs who know the difference between the REAL Truffle and the chemical truffle derived and added to truffle products. The kids actually behaved well and enjoyed their entire truffle meal.
At the end of the day, as we sat around sipping Tuscan wine, watching the sunset and discussing how we could recreate the unpretentiously elegant repast, only one question remained:
Did we actually find the truffles in the woods…or were they planted?
