Truffles from Tuscany
Discover the prized tuber in the Mugello, Crete Senesi and in the San Miniato hills
Tuscany is a land of truffles.
The growth of truffles is deeply influenced by the season, which makes it hard to quantify how many are found every year. Truffle hunting takes place all over the region and truffle hunters organized by associations and consortia, which encourage the improvement of the ecosystems, the management of truffle grounds and the promotion of the product.
White truffles
White truffles (Tuber Magnatum Pico) have a smooth external layer that’s either light yellow or greenish, and an interior that varies from chestnut to hazelnut brown, plus perhaps some bright red nuances, and plenty of fine, light veining that appear when the truffles are cooked. The size ranges from that of a chickpea to a large orange. The perfume is intense and distinctive, not unlike methane and fermented cheese.
White truffles are gathered in hilly areas, along waterways, in shaded valleys and damp valley beds, on north-facing slopes, and in symbiosis with poplar, willow, hazelnut and English oak trees, but they can also grow in Apennine areas in mixed deciduous woodland, on the edge of farmed land or former pastures, alongside Turkey oak and hornbeam. The truffles can be gathered at any time of the year; a trained dog and a special tool, the vanghetto, is needed to dig out the tubers.
It is recommended that white truffles are eaten fresh so that they don’t lose most of their aromas and flavours.
In the autumn, white truffles are be eaten in restaurants, at food festivals and the markets that are regularly held in the Mugello, Casentino, Colline Sanminiatesi, Valtiberina and Crete Senesi.
White truffles (Tuber Magnatum Pico) have a smooth external layer that’s either light yellow or greenish, and an interior that varies from chestnut to hazelnut brown, plus perhaps some bright red nuances, and plenty of fine, light veining that appear when the truffles are cooked. The size ranges from that of a chickpea to a large orange. The perfume is intense and distinctive, not unlike methane and fermented cheese.
White truffles are gathered in hilly areas, along waterways, in shaded valleys and damp valley beds, on north-facing slopes, and in symbiosis with poplar, willow, hazelnut and English oak trees, but they can also grow in Apennine areas in mixed deciduous woodland, on the edge of farmed land or former pastures, alongside Turkey oak and hornbeam. The truffles can be gathered at any time of the year; a trained dog and a special tool, the vanghetto, is needed to dig out the tubers.
It is recommended that white truffles are eaten fresh so that they don’t lose most of their aromas and flavours.
In the autumn, white truffles are be eaten in restaurants, at food festivals and the markets that are regularly held in the Mugello, Casentino, Colline Sanminiatesi, Valtiberina and Crete Senesi.
Other truffle varieties in Tuscany
In addition to the white truffle, other varieties can be found throughout the region, such as black truffles (Tuber Melanosporum Vitt.), whose black surface is covered with little polygonal warts and whose interior is purplish-black; tartufo bianchetto (Tuber albidum Pico), which has a smooth external surface that’s shiny blond with a light interior and smells a little like garlic; tartufo nero uncinato (Tuber uncinatum Chatin), which has a warty black surface and dark interior with distinctive veining (it’s sometimes confused with the scorzone truffle; and tartufo scorzone (Tuber aestivum Vitt.), which also has a rugged dark surface, a bronze/yellow interior and lots of veining; it has a slight perfume, like mushrooms.
In addition to the white truffle, other varieties can be found throughout the region, such as black truffles (Tuber Melanosporum Vitt.), whose black surface is covered with little polygonal warts and whose interior is purplish-black; tartufo bianchetto (Tuber albidum Pico), which has a smooth external surface that’s shiny blond with a light interior and smells a little like garlic; tartufo nero uncinato (Tuber uncinatum Chatin), which has a warty black surface and dark interior with distinctive veining (it’s sometimes confused with the scorzone truffle; and tartufo scorzone (Tuber aestivum Vitt.), which also has a rugged dark surface, a bronze/yellow interior and lots of veining; it has a slight perfume, like mushrooms.
