White Truffles In Istria: Do They Compare To Their Italian Cousin?

White Truffles in Istria. How do they compare with their Italian cousins? They smell the same, that’s for sure.

I didn’t know much about truffles until 2010 when Mrs. Chasing the Donkey, and I went to The Italian White Truffle Festival in Alba, Piedmont. I will never forget walking up to the entry door of the building and being overwhelmed by the pungent aroma.

Mrs. CtD was pulling faces and looking at me for an explanation of what the smell was. Initially, I was baffled. I had never smelt anything like it before. I didn’t put two and two together and realized it was the scent of truffles. From that day on, the taste and that scent have been forever etched into my memory.

Since moving to Croatia, I’ve been eagerly awaiting the white truffle season to begin in Istria to relive the experience we had in Alba to sample a fresh white truffle once again.

We attended the Buzet truffle festival a couple of weeks ago, this time with our 15-month-old baby donkey in tow. Upon arrival, we quickly scouted and checked out all the vendors. There were several different truffle products, including cheese, salami, oil, pasta, ice cream, and both fresh black and white truffles.

Unfortunately, the baby donkey wasn’t cooperating and wanted to be out of his pram, so we got him out and decided to eat. I ordered the pasta with shaved truffles while Mrs. CtD wrangled with him.

He was very persistent in running about; perhaps he was excited about trying the truffles as well…? Oh, boy, was the pasta delicious; all 3 of us enjoyed it. I wonder if 15 months is too young to remember your first truffle experience? Probably right?

After filling our bellies, we continued to look around the various stalls, buying some truffle-infused cheese and sampling all the available things. Prosciutto, salami, olive oil, more cheese & donkey milk rakija.

No day at a food and wine festival would be complete without washing it all down with a glass of  Malvasia vino.

Then, it was time to get to serious white truffle business! Just to be clear, I’m no truffle aficionado; however, when you’re in the market for a white truffle, I figure it’s important to pretend at least as though you have a clue.

After thoroughly sniffing a few White truffles, I found the perfect truffle! They pack it up into a jar with some rice to absorb moisture, and we are off.

For those of you who have not tasted a white truffle, I guess by this stage, you’re wondering what is so special about them. In my opinion, it comes down to 2 things:

• The scent and taste. It really is unique. I’ve heard many different descriptions, from “dirty socks” to “newly plowed soil, fall rain, burrowing earthworms,s and the pungent memory of lost youth and old love affairs”! I’m not sure what the latter description means, but the person who wrote that may have been eating magic mushrooms rather than a Tartufo when describing the fungi.
• They are extremely rare and can only be collected for a couple of months each year. Put together something unique and rare, and you have a highly valuable product. It was so helpful, in fact, that the price was 1400 Euro a kilo the day we purchased the delightful fungi. I should mention this was buying directly from the guy who forages for them, so no middlemen are jacking up the prices.

It is also worth mentioning that a truffle looks terrible for something that smells and tastes so good. In fact, I think it looks like dried-up donkey poo!

One thing that I am sure of is that white truffles captivate people. They inspire people to search for them worldwide, pay top dollar for them in restaurants and write crazy descriptions about them. I love them and plan on returning to Istria next year for white truffle season.

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What Did We Do With Our Truffle?

We arrived home, cooked up a fresh batch of pasta, and made a cream and butter sauce. I then shaved the Tartufo all over the pasta.

We shared it with my Teta and Tetak {Aunt & Uncle}, who also loved it. In fact, a 70-plus-year-old Uncle reported that the Tartufo had an aphrodisiac effect and that his wife needed to watch out!

Truffle Hunting

Read all about truffle hunting in Croatia here.

How Does The Istrian White Truffle Compare With The Alba Tartufo Bianco?

They are equally good, if not better because they are from Croatia!

Have you tried truffles? What did you think of them?