Objects of Desire: White Truffle

The hunt is on. Deep in the hills of the Langhe, within Italy's Piedmont region, the trifulau (truffle hunters) and their hunting dogs scour the damp forest floor and exposed gnarled tree roots for one of the most sought after gastronomical ingredients by chefs the world over: the white truffle. In Alba, Italy, October marks the height of the quest, when both hunters and buyers compete for the highest quality and prices on the market for the freshly discovered white truffle. Size and potency are a result of many variables, including moisture, climate, species and age of tree, soil type and acidity, proximity to tree roots and trunk, even including the subtleties of insect traffic. Right now, the community of Alba is ramping up for its annual International Auction of the Alba White Truffle, where prized white truffles have garnered extremely large payouts. In the meantime, Alba hosts a range of festivities celebrating this mysterious Tuber Magnatum Pico, during the 79th Annual White Truffle Fair of Alba, which typically runs from late September to early November. We hear, the ideal way to experience the white truffle's full flavor and aromatic intensity is to eat it within three days of being dug from the earth. I suppose that means heading to Alba, Italy sometime in the next, oh 10 days, along with thousands of other truffle devotees from around the globe.