Since the beginning of the pandemic, the routine of the dogs Macchia and Perla has not changed at all. Last year, when autumn came, dyeing the leaves of the trees yellow in the small rural village of Catena Rossa, Piedmont, they went out every night with their owner, Tartufaio Michele Bertolusso, while most of Italy’s population lived on. confined from 10pm.
Bars and clubs were closed, but the dark woods of northwestern Italy’s Alba region had a curious and impressive nightlife: men with flashlights following their dogs through the darkness of trees to try to get on with their secret (and lucrative) business .
The bitches from Bertolusso, of the Lagotto Romagnolo breed, knew what they had to sniff out: the coveted and expensive white truffles, considered the largest and most expensive delicacy in the world’s gastronomy.
These rare tubercles that grow underground in symbiosis with trees like oak and poplar are found by skilfully trained dogs —like Macchia and Perla—, who sniff the pungent aroma of the truffle (between earthy and raw garlic) in return of some cookies.
With restaurants already in operation across the country — and, fortunately, around the world, maintaining an international trade that generates around 400 million euros — this year they have had a lot of work.
On a late November morning, Macchia digs the ground while wagging her tail, accompanied by an attentive audience of 23 people. Another truffle, this time a black one, very small, to the discontent of the fans. Without thinking, Bertolusso puts it in his pocket: even the smallest have their (high) value.
Every year, starting in October, when the season starts, shoppers and (increasingly) onlookers flock to the small town of Alba and its surroundings to watch the truffle hunt — and then eat them in the local restaurants, where they are served in chips over tajarin with butter or fried eggs.
scheduled hunting
Such hunting, however, can be a little frustrating for the more romantic, who expect some adrenaline in the search for fungus nuggets. Tourists and visitors almost only follow the “hunts” in areas restricted by fences on private properties, where dogs have no great difficulty in finding them.
“Few people know, but there are ways to give truffle development a little boost,” says Paulo Montanaro, owner of Tartuflanghe, a family business that works with more than 300 truffle hunters in Langhe, in southern Piedmont.
From spraying fungal spores on tree roots to bulging lower ground to ensure a higher concentration of moisture, many techniques have been employed to increase truffle production. In one of them, the simple pruning of trees helps to direct nutrients to the roots where the fungus lives in symbiosis.
“Human beings have developed several procedures to grow their food, which is what we do with truffles. We use natural resources with some technology to speed things up a little that would take more time in nature”, he says.
Scientific knowledge has greatly changed the way to get the precious fungi. In the 20 hectares of woodland the company maintains between the Langhe Roero and Monferrato regions, high-precision thermometers have also entered the field to measure the activity of the mycelium (the set of developed filaments of fungi) underground — an indicator of truffles a be explored.
Similar to the equipment that has become common at the entrances of malls and commercial establishments, instead of just the temperature, the small screen shows bands of color between green and red to identify where the coveted delicacies might be hidden.
Agronomist Enrico Avisame, from the University of Padua, points to the ground where little Perla runs, to show that the dog’s sense of smell seems to be well tuned.
“In a normal forest, it would be impossible to measure all this activity. Here, due to the techniques used, we can better see the mycelium in action, which indicates more truffles and helps us where to look”, he explains.
This means that traditional dogs can be replaced in the future, at least on private properties where the production is grown. In the case of truffles that are born spontaneously (the majority), the sniffer animals are still the best guarantee of some success on the part of truffle hunters.
looting and poisoning
Many of them, however, are increasingly determined to leave the profession. The lucrative and highly competitive market has become increasingly difficult for Alba’s hundreds of tartufai. Many hunters invade the property of others and “loot” the land in search of valuable tubers.
In one of the scenes in the documentary “The Truffle Hunters,” released last year, which details the fascinating and dangerous world of truffles, a hunter explains to a police officer that his hunting dog has been poisoned — most likely by a competitor.
“You know why I don’t go out anymore? Because they’re all greedy. They don’t understand anything about the forest, they want to plunder it,” says another ex-hunter, convinced not to return to hunting. “There is no more respect, no more tradition, the market has changed a lot,” he laments.
At the Alba Truffle International Fair, held 89 years ago in the city, the sector, however, remains prolific. A truffle weighing 900 grams was sold for an impressive 103,000 euros two weeks ago to the delight of tourists and producers present.
The value is a boost to the event held annually between October and December, which has often collected some exceptional six-figure auctions in recent years. The “piece” was sold to a restaurant in Hong Kong. Apparently, in the world of “white gold”, not everything has changed all that much.
Sites to follow tartufai and their dogs
Viator: viator.com
€119 (for 3 hours)
Tartuflanghe: tartuflanghe.com
From €90 (with truffle lunch option)
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