Market
The white truffles of Alba in Piedmont definitely rank in the luxury class. They are valued for their powerful yet extraordinarily delicate aroma. They are expensive because production is highly limited: they grow solely in the wild and fluctuations in weather conditions can play havoc with their reproduction and growth.

The price may double in a week if the market in Alba is lively. Truffles may be impossible to find if it rains, or if the hunter keeps them for his daughter's wedding! And since Italians cannot have a daughter married without inviting every member of the family, down to the most distant cousin, a lot of truffles are needed. So the more weddings there are in the fall, the fewer white truffles on the market!

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Talking over white truffle
Alain Dutournier, Carré des Feuillants, Paris

"Ancient peoples believed the truffle to be the "daughter of lightning." The Greeks and Romans were extremely fond of them and esteemed them highly for their aphrodisiac properties. In his day, the composer Rossini, a renowned gourmand, called the truffle "the Mozart of mushrooms." Its favoured growing region is Piedmont, on the fringes of the Roero and Langhe hills, which also produces Italy's greatest wines: Dolcetto, Barbera, Barbaresco, Barolo and Nebbiolo.

Like these wines, the white truffle is found in five different varieties, determined by the species of tree on whose roots it originates. So depending on whether it is associated with the weeping willow, oak, poplar, linden or vine plant, its colour can range from white, sometimes veined with pink, to grey verging on brown. Unlike the black truffle, it does not take well to cooking, but with its exuberant garlic overtones and its somewhat mineral hydrocarbon characteristics, it just has to be grated at the last moment to enhance certain foods. While its black cousin is a perfect match for a fine red Pomerol, the white truffle pairs beautifully with a distinguished aged Riesling.

The white Italian truffle with its wild garlic smell and mineral, hydrocarbon-like notes should never be cooked, but used raw, grated onto crusty bread or a piping hot dish.".

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Italy
Italians eat them raw, shaved paper-thin over egg dishes, plain pastas (dressed only with butter and cheese) and other light foods.