A man, his dog, and the treasure of truffles.

As a child, my taste buds were almost non existent.  My meals consisted of hamburgers, pizza, peanut butter and jelly, nutella, mac and cheese, and tang.  Throughout the years though, my palate developed, probably to the surprise of my entire family.  I learned that life is too short to limit yourself to certain things, and one thing that stuck with me throughout my growing years, something that Mom, Dad, Brother, and Sis all told me repeatedly-How do you know if you don't taste it.  There are things out there that I can not eat.  The thought of these things coming close to my lips or even smelling them brings thoughts of nausea to me.  

I didn't develop a love affair with mushrooms until my late 20's.  I always thought they were slimy little creatures that grew out of things that were inedible, so why would I introduce that into my stomach!  Then I began to experiment.  It was gradual, from pizza to salad, to sautéed and on my steaks.  Finally, I went for it, and tried them raw, as many varieties that I could eat raw(As you know, some need to be cooked).  Then, one day, someone mentioned to me that since I have broken the ice with mushrooms, I should try truffles.  The thought crossed my mind, but after some investigation and pricing, I knew that it would be hard to come by.  Fortunately, shortly after I moved to Chicago, I had the opportunity to dine at Grant Achatz's restaurant - Alinea - http://website.alinearestaurant.com.  On the menu is the Hot Potato/Cold Potato.  It's a piece of art and delicious.  In a small wax cup, you have pureed yukon gold potato, black truffle juice, heavy cream, and salt.  On a pin, yes, a pin, you have a piece of parmesan cheese, butter, chive, potato, and topped with a shaved piece of black truffle.  To eat, you pull the pin, and the items slide into the soup.  And what follows is an experience that can only be described as pure decadence.  It is one bite, but one bite that will stay with you for the rest of your life.  It was after that, I was hooked.

After that I went truffle crazy, truffle salt, truffle honey, salami tartufo and I even bought the most bastardized, chastised truffle item a person could buy-truffle oil.  But I wanted more!!  I wanted my own truffles.  I went as far as looking into growing my own, however, I have neither the climate, nor the landscape to grow them.  I realized that I was ok with that though.  If I have access to them night and day, the special feeling of having black truffles goes away. 

"There are two types of people who eat truffles: those who think truffles are good because they are dear and those who know they are dear because they are good."J.L. Vaudoyer

Here is a brief snippet for those of you that are not familiar with truffles(the fungus). http://www.ehow.com/facts_5136056_truffle.html

When the opportunity to come to Orvieto came about, I read what the trip consisted of.  When I read truffle hunting, I thought to myself, "that besides cooking in an Italian restaurant, in Italy, truffle hunting would be the highlight"!

The day of the tartufo came and I was stoked!  We piled into the car and off we went.  It was a beautiful day, which I'm finding is rare these days.  We were running a bit behind, which is also common.  We pull off the road and there sits a small red vehicle.  As we walk up to it, the gentleman sitting inside - Giovanni, points to his watch and chuckles a bit.  He gets out and walks to the rear of the vehicle where he keeps a travel cage for his sidekick - Perla.  I'm not sure what breed of dog Perla is, but she's a peppy little pup, anxious to find some truffles!

A man and his dog.

Perla

We weren't on the trail 5 minutes and Perla had her first hit.  After that, it seemed like she was finding them like wild fire.  Of course, there were a few times that she almost devoured them.  Not on purpose of course, just out of excitement for the treat she would receive after each find.  Giovanni told us that she occasionally plays the game, just to get a treat.  Dogs are pretty wise creatures.

Perla was going non stop.

Almost swallowed that one.

A truffle in it's natural setting.

Along the trail, we came across some Juniper bushes and another bush with some edible berries.  

Juniper bush

I can't remember what these were, but they were delicious.

And snails everwhere.

Within 30 minutes, we had in our possession, 13 black truffles.  They were amazingly fragrant and I didn't want to let go.  The idea of the magic that occurs when you use these treats was overwhelming.  And the thought of using them tonight for dinner service was inconceivable to me.  I mean, I've seen a black truffle-whole, but never have I had the honor of holding multiple black truffles from a hunt and then clean and serve them to some lucky diners!!  The fortunate portion of this story, we also had black truffles for our staff meal.  A little black truffle risotto to help us get through dinner.  Not a bad way to spend a day.  My trip was made!  

Just holding them in my hand, the aroma was pungent and sharp.  Exactly what you want!

Jose and the catch!

"Whosoever says truffle, utters a grand word, which awakens erotic and gastronomic ideas...."Jean-Anthelme Brillat-Savarin (1755-1826)
preface to ‘The Physiology of Taste’ (1825)

Thanks to Chef Lorenzo for this adventure.  Thanks to Giovanni and Perla for an amazing adventure!!