A precious local product, but also a fun activity
The Sabina area is full of truffles; a fragrant, tasty product from the woods that can fill, with its unmistakable olfactory notes, the kitchens of all mushroom enthusiasts. Not only seasoning, but also enhancing any dish.
What types of truffles are found in Sabina? And when?
Not all truffles are the same. There are valuable varieties, and less important and sought-after types on the market. The precious White and Precious Black variety for example, in the Reatino area, but also the Nero di Norcia truffle are among the most appreciated – the price per kilo, can range even above eight hundred euros.
A slightly ochre colour for the White, dark tending to black for the Black variety, both clearly distinguish themselves from the ‘hooked white’ and the ‘scorzone’, decidedly less interesting and with less particular properties. The harvest period is year-round, the only difference is the result of your search: the timespan between December and March offers greater satisfaction in terms of the value of the product found.
When one thinks of truffles, one thinks of scent rather than flavour
The characteristic odour of truffles is one of the ways in which Nature allows its proliferation. In fact, the great intensity when truffles are close to full maturation attracts much more animals which, upon eating it, become unconscious vectors of its spores, favouring the birth of new truffles.
This fragrance, which anticipates the taste, and sometimes almost covers it, such is its strength, is the reason why it is a marvellous combination with the Leonessa potato, with organic trout from Rivodutri, with game, with first and second courses, with cheese and with cured meats. And with everything your imagination can suggest.
Not only good food, but also fun in nature
However, we don’t just want to suggest an undeniable pleasure for the palate. It’s also and above all about fun, a healthy way to spend a day in the marvellous woods that cover our, wonderful, excuse our repetition, Sabina region.
Among the areas most affected by the proliferation of truffles, we find Leonessa and Terminillo, the Sabine Mountains area and the Salto and Turano Valleys.
Imagine yourself in the Sabine woods, surrounded only by the noise of Nature, or by the chatter of your group of friends, in search of what Nature itself has to offer.
Don’t hesitate to ask us for our advice on the best trails and the best guides to entrust you with.
Some local organizations also offer fun courses for you, and your dog, or guided excursions in search for truffles. An excellent solution if you are not equipped with the special truffle hunting card issued by the Lazio Region.
A product that is also an activity, an activity that becomes a World Heritage
No, we’re not messing around with puns. The search and collection of truffles are a set of skills and knowledge, a culture stratified over the centuries.
For eight years now, the associations that bring together truffle producers and seekers have tried to make UNESCO recognize the “Search and digging of truffles in Italy: traditional knowledge and practices” as part of the Intangible World Heritage list.
Recently, at the end of 2021, they succeeded in safeguarding this immense know-how regarding the product and everything that gravitates around it; the intense link that binds truffle hunters, their dog and the ecosystem of which this tiny, buried treasure is part of and which contributes to safeguarding the natural landscape.
A few tips on truffles
Would you like to combine your stay at the Residenze del Borgo with a day with a guide searching for truffles and a lunch with truffles? Ask us how to organize it!
If you like to visit fairs, then don’t miss the Sagra del Tartufo di Petrella Salto truffles fair, or the NeroNorcia fair between late February and early March, where local handicrafts find ample space in the exhibition stands.
