nanda_zrh

Hi,

We'll be on our yearly pilgrimage to Piedmonte for the truffle festival. Just wondering if anyone here knows any possiblity of going truffle hunting?

Thanks...

LoveItaly

Hi nanda, well to my knowledge the people that go truffle hunting keep their knowledge a secret, they do not share it with anyone.

But enjoy every bite of the truffles, I am envious, have not had any for some years. Lucky you! Let us know all the wonderful foods you had so we can drool, LOL. Best wishes.

elina

I believe you would need your own pig to do that.

LoveItaly

Or if not a trained pig a trained dog!

Nanda, just go to the restaurants and order the truffles and enjoy eating them.

Also, remember, if you do not know what you are doing you can pick mushrooms which are deadly, they can kill you. This happens occasionaly even here in CA.

I know one does not "pick" truffles, they are pulled out of the ground but there is no way you will find any and only mentioned what I did in case you saw other mushrooms that you decided that you wanted to pick. It takes generations of experience or a very knowledgeable teacher to show people which mushrooms are safe. Best wishes.

elina

No, a good mushroom book is enough. I have hunted mushrooms all my life, and I am still very much alive. Some of the best like chantarelles are very easy to regocnize even for a beginner.

LoveItaly

elina, not to argue but people every so often die or have serious kidney problems for the rest of their lives here in CA thinking they know what mushrooms are safe. And they had books!

I am NOT saying that you do not know, but believe me, the facts speak for themselves, there has been a lot of government warnings
in fact about mushrooms.

I will not argue the subject but I know what I know. Several years ago several family members died and others almost died due to picking and eating poison mushrooms. And they considered themselves experts. It happens ever so often. Best wishes to you and may you always eat safe mushrooms!

LoveItaly

Just to clarify, I did NOT mean members of my family. I meant members of a large group of family members who lived in my area that thought they were experts regarding mushrooms.

Florence

"No, a good mushroom book is enough. I have hunted mushrooms all my life, and I am still very much alive."


For a chance to survive an attack from feral truffles, the book needs to be big enough !



(sorry, couldn't resist ;-) )

ira

>..any possiblity of going truffle hunting? <

We booked a truffle safari through an agency, but I can't remember its name.

It was 3 days 2 nights. Porters for the luggage, Land Rovers for transportation, Large tents for sleeping.

There were also lessons and practice in the use of the large caliber truffle guns.

Cost of mounting trophies was extra.

Unfortunately, the guide was killed when charged by a rogue truffle and our safari was canceled.

M. Python

Florence

The guide should have known betten than get out of the car without throwing some bait first ! It is common knowledge truffles get ravenous at the sound of Land Rovers.

ira

I don't know about the details, florence.

It did sort of ruin our vaation.

M. P.

jabez

In case anyone's further south here's a agriturismo that has truffle hunts http://www.ankhura.com/.
I think they're not as dangerous in southern Tuscany.:->

LoveItaly

ROTFL, you guys are funny..love it!
Excuse the jokes nanda, but hope you enjoy them too.

suzyq53

Keep the humor going, folks! But I do have a question-Going to Tuscany/Umbria this month and looking forward to eating my first truffle-How are they different from other mushrooms and where are the best places to get them? Thanks

LoveItaly

Susy, go to a restaurant and be prepared to pay a lot of money for them. That is no joke! Mangia. As far as taste I am sure others here can do a better description then I can, earthy, rich, pungent, fantastic. If you are a mushroom lover that is. Piedmont is where you can really get an abuandance of them, which is where nanda is going.

clairobscur

I would strongly advise anybody against hunting mushrooms while only relying on a book. Many edible mushrooms have toxic or even lethal look-alike. Just looking at a picture isnt enough, by any means. I think I can tell apart the excellent caesar's amanite and the poisonous muscaria amanite, but I'm never 100% certain, so I abstain, despite having seen hundreds of both. I pick parasol mushrooms, but a number of experienced mushroom hunters don't, for the same reason.


Even the chanterelle the poster mentionned is sometimes mistaken for another toxic mushroom (I don't think they actually look alike, and they don't even grow in the same places, but I've been picking chantereles since early childhood. Fact is, a number of people do this mistake). It's generally very difficult to identify mushrooms with certainty on the basis of a mere picture. It's not like they grow with a perfectly standardized shape, form, size, color and features.


Someone wishing to collect mushrooms should either learn to recognize them (or more likely, to recognize some species) with *really* knowledgeable friends or relatives, or join first a mycology society with which they'll go on mushroom hunting days or weekends.


As for truffles, forget about them, anyway. They grow in very specific places (specific soil, specific trees) that are taken care of by the owners. They won't see you hunting truffles on their land any more kindly that they woul if you were stealing fruits from their orchards. Actually, it will be way worse because truffles are so valuable.

Besides, they're hunted with the help of trained dogs and pigs. You won't be able to find them by yourself, in all likehood.


Just buy and enjoy them.

Underhill

Suzy,

Prepare yourself for the possibility that you may be one of the people (about 25% of the population, I think) to whom the taste of a truffle is nothing special. Just like cats and catnip: some get a reaction, others don't.

I don't. Sigh.