The town of Alba is situated in southern Piemonte, a region known for strong red wines such as Barolo and Barbaresco. In this wine producing region Alba stands out for its food, and more specifically for two products: hazelnuts and white truffles. Alba’s hazelnuts are said to be the best in Italy and are used in Nutella and Ferrero Rocher chocolates. Truffles are a type of mushroom that come in black and white varieties, white being the much rarer species. They look more like dirty rocks than mushrooms and grow entirely underground, making them very difficult to find. This year, the weather in Northern Italy hasn’t been conducive to mushroom growth because it hasn’t been rainy enough. This means that the normally expensive price of white truffles has shot up even higher. One kilo costs somewhere between €4,000 and €6,000. That’s about $3,000 to $4,000 per pound! A sprinkling of white truffles on top of your pasta in a restaurant will run about €5 or €10 per shaving!

Every Fall Alba hosts the International White Truffle Festival. The town’s narrow streets are transformed back to medieval times with bales of hey lining the streets, festival workers wearing period dress, and piazzas filled with themed games like “fishing for wine” and “throw the dart at the salami.” My personal favorite was a game which involved placing a guinea pig in the center of a circle of hay bales, and guessing which numbered opening in the hay it would run into. The winner won a bottle of local wine.

The center piece of the festival is a truffle exhibition hall. As soon as you pass through the doors the rich, earthy scent of truffles wafts through your nose. Local producers of truffle-based products such as oils, butters, and creams man little stands alongside wine, cheese, and salami vendors. Free samples are encouraged, though this doesn’t apply to the truffles themselves. Hidden in an area towards the back the “truffle hunters” sit behind their display cases, which could just as easily display rare coins or stamps. The dirty looking clumps of culinary jewels are lined up in perfect little rows with price tags marking their value. Occasionally, a generous truffle hunter will reach into his case and pull out a sample for you to smell. The intoxicating aroma makes you momentarily forget that the walnut sized specimen drifting beneath your nose has a €163 price tag!

Last Modified : November 6th, 2007
Filed under : Italy, Trips, Food and drink
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