Truffles in Tuscany - Truffles recipes in Tuscany

The first description of a truffle (tuberum) we have, was made by Pliny the Elder during the first century A.D.. Jumping ahead to the Modern Age, into the 1475 Platina Treaty titled "De Honesta Voluptate" we find a first reference to the truffle hunting; instead, during the XVI century, truffle in Tuscany

as reported in Messiburgo and Scappi works, the underground fungus became part of aristocrats and upper class meals. Some seventeenth-century accounts, 0.66lbs was worth to 0.56oz of gold. During the first half of the XIX century, the French writer Alexander Dumas praised truffle highly and someone as judge Anthelme Brillat-Savarin credit it with aphrodisiac properties; also in this century, the white truffle renown increased and even the well-known Artusi, during the fight between black and white truffle supporters, sided with the second ones.
During 1900, in some Italian region like Piedmont, Marche, Umbria and Tuscany, truffle hunting had a great distribution. Nowadays, Tuscany offers many optimal situations for the development and fructification of truffle, notably the prized white truffle (Tuber magnatum pico). There are about 3500 pickers, 9 tartufai (typical Tuscan name given to truffle hunter) clubs and 6 different geographic places of origin and its business is valued at 12 millions euro per year. Looking at these data, experts wish a guarantee of origin for Tuscan truffle. Tuscany Truffle

Although in the literature on the subject there have been many accounts about the use of the sow for the truffle hunting, nowadays this hunting in the productive truffle beds, which is allow by law only from September to December, is done exclusively with specially trained dogs and with the aid of an instrument we generally call vanghetto (tool with a wooden handle attached to a metal part in the shape of a small). Truffle beds, that is to say areas where this underground fungus grows, can be identified, specially as black truffles are concerned, by the absence of grass. Moreover, truffle beds facing south are used to ripen earlier, following by the ones facing east, west and north. There are five main areas for the truffle's diffusion in Tuscany: Casentino area, the hills of San Miniato, Valtiberina, the Crete Senesi area and Mugello. The tuber magnatum pico in Mugello, with its strong and pleasant scent, has different sizes Tuscan Truffle

and shapes, it can weight more than a 1Kg and its selling price hovers around 2200,00 euro per kg and it can come up to 5000,00 euro per kg.
To celebrate this prized food, in Mugello many market fair are organized in different seasons, as those at Villa Pecori in Borgo San Lorenzo, in Barberno di Mugello, in Scarperia and even an International Tuscan Truffle Auction in the Cafaggiolo Castle that was of the de' Medici family. There are many and different recipes using truffles, all of them are tasty and dainty; before using truffle on canap�s, home-made pasta or meat, you have to carefully remove all the soil with a toothbrush.

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BOOK YOUR TRUFFLE PACKAGE

Here there are some recipes:

Canapés with white truffle
INGREDENTS FOR 4 PEOPLE: 12 slices of sandwich loaf, 50 gr. White truffle, 50 gr. Butter, 2 spoon of grated Parmisan, an half lemon juice, a clove of garlic.
PROCEDURE: Melt the butter with the chopping garlic on a low flame. Carefully clean truffles with a knife and quickly rinse it in cool water, grate it in the melted butter and let it heat but not brown. Add the grated parmisan and a dash of broth if the mix seems to be too thick. Before taking it out the flame, add the lemon juice and even some grated lemon peel. Toast the sandwich loaf, spread it with the truffle cream and serve hot. We recommend to be served with a wine like Cortese or Erbaluce.

Ricotta cheese Ravioli with Truffle
INGREDIENTS FOR 4 PEOPLE: 400 gr. Home-made Ravioli, 45 gr Butter, 30 gr Grana Padano cheese, white truffle, meat broth and just enough salt.
PROCEDURE: Cook ravioli in boiled salt water al dente (still firm); drain and put it in a pan, adding butter and white truffle together with the broth and dust with grated Grana Padano cheese. Serve hot.

Rabbit with Truffle
INGREDIENTS FOR 4 PEOPLE: 1 cleaned rabbit in pieces, white truffle, rosemary, bay leaf, thyme, oregano, mint, 3 peppers, half a glass of white wine, some vegetable consommé, just enough salt and pepper.
PROCEDURE: Scald the rabbit for 5 minutes, drain and dry it. Line an oven dish with some baking paper and put in it the rabbit with the aromas; peel peppers from seeds, cut them into stripes and add to the rabbit with white wine, salt and pepper. Bake for 30 minutes at 200°, sprinkling with the consommé. Before serving, dust it with some truffle.

Roast Veal larded with Truffle
INGREDIENTS FOR 6 PEOPLE: 700 gr. Best end of the hindquarters of veal, lardons of ham, black truffle, extravergin olive oil, just enough salt and pepper.
PROCEDURE: Using the tip of a knife make small cuts in the meat and put in them lardons covered with salt, pepper and black truffle. Tie the meat, put it in a baking pan and bake for 1 hour with oil. Every now and then, turn the meat and if it seems to brown too much, sprinkle it with a spoonful of water.

Tuscan Truffles and Mushrooms Salad
INGREDIENTS FOR 6 PEOPLE: 200 gr. Lettuce, 30 gr. Tuscan Truffle, 150 gr. Porcini mushrooms, 400 gr. Field mushrooms, 300 gr. Tuscan Pecorino cheese, 1 Lemon, Parsley, Extravergin Olive Oil, just enough salt and pepper.
PROCEDURE: Shell, washing and cut the mushrooms and lettuce into stripes. Cut the Pecorino cheese into stripes too and add to the salad together with chopped parsley.
Mix oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper and dress the salad. Sprinkle with grated truffle.

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