The ultimate autumn activity: go truffle hunting yourself—and these are the best places to do it

Truffles, one of the most expensive ingredients in the world: you either love them or you don’t (or so we’ve been asked during the editorial lunch: could we please stop glorifying truffles..). And although you can simply buy truffles at the supermarket, it’s of course much more fun to go truffle hunting yourself. There are places in the Netherlands where wild truffles grow, but we think it’s more fun to travel to Italy for this. Autumn is the best time to do it. 

Where do truffles grow?

In Italy, truffles are called tartufo, which comes from the Latin word for tuber. I think they look a little like shrivelled potatoes. Finding truffles isn’t something you can just do. They are often found dozens of centimetres underground in places with a damper, colder climate. The forests of Piedmont, for example, or those in Tuscany, Le Marche and Umbria. You mainly find them beneath trees such as oaks, poplars and willows. The season for finding the best truffles runs from early September to the end of the year.

Truffles usually grow in places where truffles were also found in previous years. Although that sounds easy, truffle hunting remains a real sport and there is fierce competition among truffle hunters. Locations are kept secret, and hunters send other people down the wrong path to protect their gold mine. Apparently, families keep extensive logbooks detailing the locations, quality and even the phases of the moon.

You can make quite a bit of money selling truffles. It’s not for nothing that truffles are called white and black gold. A truffle the size of a ping-pong ball can already fetch almost one hundred euros. For Italian truffle hunters, this is an important source of income. In Italy, you’ll find around eight varieties of truffle, of which the white truffle is the rarest and most valuable.

Truffle hunting in Italy

Fancy getting rich by hunting for truffles? Unfortunately, you need a trained eye and a well-trained dog or pig. In fact, setting out alone to hunt for truffles in Italy is strictly prohibited. You need a licence to go truffle hunting. If you search outside the season or set out without a permit, you can receive a hefty fine. You are allowed to join organised truffle hunts, however.

Autumn is the perfect time to look for truffles, and only in October can you join an organised group or go out with a truffle hunter. Dogs or pigs are often taken along on these trips. Although pigs have been used less frequently lately, because they also find truffles very tasty. Sleeping in isn’t an option, as you set off early with the hunter and their dog. When the dog finds a truffle, the hunter quickly takes over and digs it out of the ground with a special little spade, a vanghetto. The hole is then carefully closed again so that truffles can be found there the following year. Found a truffle yourself? You can take it with you and sell it to a restaurant, or keep it and make something delicious with it.

Go truffle hunting yourself

Fancy an organised truffle hunt? In the regions of Tuscany, Le Marche, Umbria and Piedmont, plenty of truffle hunts are organised in autumn. These are the ones you’ll want to try:

Truffle hunting with dinner

It’s hard to imagine a more idyllic place to go truffle hunting. Agriturismo Diacceroni is located in the quintessential Tuscan landscape, with hills decorated with cypress trees and sunsets that are at their most beautiful every day. At Agriturismo Diacceroni, they understand that all that truffle hunting makes you hungry. First, they take you into the woods with a guide and their dog, where you learn the techniques of truffle hunting. Afterwards, dinner is prepared, naturally based on truffles and accompanied by organic wine. The cost is €115 per person and it lasts around three hours.

Agriturismo Diacceroni – Via della Bonifica, 156, Volterra

Truffle hunting and wine tasting

Nowhere does wine flow as generously as in Piedmont. This is one of Italy’s greatest wine regions, where two of my favourite pastimes come together: truffle hunting and wine tasting. Borgo Vallone organises truffle hunts combined with a wine tasting. Fortunately, not at the same time. First, you go looking for the white truffle with a trifulau—the most expensive and rarest truffle in the world—and you round things off with a wine tasting at well-known and smaller-scale wineries. Price on request.

Borgo Vallone – Regione lavagnini 19, Olmo Gentile, Piedmont

Traditional truffle hunting

Wild Foods Italy is a family business in Umbria, and they have been searching for Italy’s best truffles for generations. That you learn from the best becomes clear from the fact that they don’t stop until enough truffles have been found. But as they say themselves: you’ll be surprised by how many truffles can be found in a day. A little hunger is taken care of with a truffle snack that you dug up yourself, and a glass of wine. If you’re lucky, the family’s local shepherd will also stop by with homemade pecorino cheese. The day ends with an Italian barbecue featuring crispy bruschette, homemade prosciutto, truffle spread and wine. This truffle hunt in Umbria costs €150 per person.

Località Pettino – Campello sul Clitunno, Umbria

Also read:

• Toscanini recipe: tagliolini with black truffle
• 10 truffle products from the supermarket that you need a magnifying glass for
• 5 surprising facts about truffles

Source: Italiamo