His Majesty the Truffle

Celebrities Italian food

It does not matter that it is spherical or flat. The peridium, its outer wall, is milky white or yellow ocher. At the bottom is fine to the touch is smooth or sculpted present, the important thing is that it is attractive, not too hard not too elastic, we kidnap with its intense and unmistakable aroma.
Who jealously guard the glebe, a pulp brown mixed with whitish veins.
Not unaware of the seductive power Camillo Benso di Cavour, who made half a diplomat.
They fell at his feet even Haywort Rita, Harry Truman, Winston Churchill, Joe DiMaggio, Marilyn Monroe, a host of other celebrities.
Although accustomed to fame, esteem, awards and accolades, certainly did not have to remain impassive when Giacomo Morra, hotelier and restaurateur d’Alba to whom we owe fortunate intuition, thought it well to flatter with an unusual gift: the best specimen of the year.
It’s not forever, but for the wallet, seeing is believing, it is as if it were.

Not any truffle, no. But the white truffle of Alba, better known among insiders as Tuber magnatum Pico, Trifola for the countrymen.

From the Apennines to the Langhe

It can also be found in Romagna, Tuscany, Marche, Umbria, Campania, Veneto and Lombardy.
But his kingdom, you know, are the Langhe.
It not be said that they are all equals
Do not need to be truffle dogs to appreciate the unmistakable smell, for goodness sake.
But behind the license plate of the specimen there is a qualified opinion of about one hundred judges trained for the purpose by the National Center Truffle Studies, devoted to his sensory analysis.
Because need to be beautiful, fragrant, pleasant to the touch.

The most beautiful

Sensory evaluation begins from visual analysis.
The fruiting body first of all be intact.
Not only because otherwise it would be on the slow side, but also because it would be brought and deteriorate more easily.
Even personal hygiene plays an important role in the allocation of the band Mr. Bianco d’Alba: I want to soap and water, no waste land, no tricks that will not mask flaws and imperfections.
The last criterion of judgment, as in all the beauty contests that are observed, it is purely subjective: it is not nice truffle nice, but it’s nice that the truffle like.
For each judge is entitled to rely on his personal thunderbolt.
Not too hard, nor too elastic
Is not only the winning recipe to win a woman.
It’s what drives its followers to say that it is perfect to touch: turgid, compact, not too hard, not too soft.

To each his own fragrance

Fermented mushroom, honey, hay, garlic, spices, wet earth and ammonia. The aromatic composition of white Alba truffle is
identified through precise descriptors.

Sometimes you have to be raw

And it is the case of our guest of honor.
What goes well with a lot of hot food on cold plates that as long as it’s raw and cut into thin slices.
Needless to say, fits perfectly to the Piedmontese cuisine.
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From “Il Giornale del Cibo”