Black and white truffles
Tuscan gold

Digging up truffles or tartufi in Tuscany , truly is a precarious undertaking. Whoever goes off in search for the high-priced tartufi di alba, knows how to defend himself physically. More than once a truffle hunter has been mugged by jealous colleagues, who wanted to trick him out of the pricy delicacy by force.

Beside the very expensive white variety of truffles, which cost about € 10,000 per kilogram, you can also find cheaper ones, the tartufo nero or sconone (ca. € 1,500) and the white marzolo (ca. € 150 per kilogram).

In Italy, dogs are used when hunting for truffles. “It is forbidden to search with pigs”, says Marco Tedeschi, a truffle hunter from Betolle. “You also need a permit, comparable to a driver's license, and the dogs have to take a special training course.”

“It's best to seek for truffles during the night, because then they come up just above the ground, and also because you'll be more likely to spot them first.” The tartufo di alba only grows in a few places, and this only during the months of September, October and November.

The less expensive marzolo can be found far more frequently, yet only from January until March. The time from June until October is ideal to track down some tartufi nero. During the remaining months the truffle season is closed.

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- This site was realised thanks to the co-operation between the town council and the inhabitants of Torrita di Siena and ten graduated students 2004 from the “Katholieke Hogeschool Mechelen”, Belgium, department communication science, campus De Ham. - © Torrita di Siena