The Alba white truffles - Tuber magnatum | PLANTIN (2024)

Alba white truffle, also known by its scientific name Tuber magnatum Pico, is the rarest and most coveted of all truffles.
It is a wild truffle, only growing as Mother Nature sees fit in moist soil at the foot of lindens, willows, oaks, and poplars.

The Alba white truffle is mainly found in Northern Italy, around the town of Alba, in the Piedmont region. It can also be found in small quantities in France. Indeed, a handful of truffle hunters in the Vaucluse and Drôme departments supply us with white truffles each season.

The Alba white truffle gets its scientific name from a doctor from Turin named Vittorio Pico, who, in 1788, dubbed the truffle Tuber magnatum, from the Latin word magnatus, which refers to important figures, like lords and other members of high society. Incidentally, the famous Italian composer Gioachino Rossini nicknamed the white truffle “the Mozart of mushrooms.”

It was only in the 20thcentury, in 1928 more specifically, that the Alba white truffle began to develop a reputation outside of Italy. That year, Giacomo Morra organised an exhibition dedicated to Tuber magnatum during the winegrowing festival in Alba.
It was such a success that Morra decided to organise La Fiera del Tartufo Bianco, the White Truffle Fair, entirely dedicated to this exceptional mushroom. Some 60years later, it became an international festival and today it is known around the world, notably thanks to an ingenious initiative: back in the day, the fair’s organisers would gift Alba white truffles to important figures who came to visit, like Winston Churchill and Alfred Hitchco*ck.

In 1930, around the same time he created the fair, Giacomo Morra founded La Tartufi Morra. It was the first company to sell and create products from the Alba white truffle.

The harvest season for white truffles in Italy goes from October to December and can vary according to the weather. The white truffle, like all fresh truffles, is “hunted” by the trifolao, the Italian name for white truffle hunters.
With the help of dogs specially trained for truffle hunting, the trifolao criss-cross through areas known to produce Alba white truffles. In Italy, an entire culture has developed around hunting Alba white truffles and there’s even been a special school for training truffle dogs since 1880 in the town of Roddi, in north-west Italy, called the Università dei Cani da Tartufo.

At PLANTIN, we are proud to offer Alba white truffles each year to our business and individual customers.

Once we receive the white truffles at our facilities, they are sorted carefully by our Truffle Masters, Ella and Eric, so that we can offer you high-quality truffles.

The quantity we receive varies greatly from year to year because Alba white truffles are subject to the whims of the seasons. Requiring a lot of water, all it takes is one year of low rainfall to affect harvests.

Tuber magnatum is truly exceptional thanks to its rarity, its appearance, and its aromas and flavours.
Unlike other truffles, Italian white truffle has skin that’s pale yellow or even ochre in colour. Its flesh is marbled with white veins. Depending on its maturity and the tree under which it grows, the main colour of the flesh can vary from creamy white to pinkish white.

In terms of taste and smell, the white truffle is strong and intense, with flavours reminiscent of fresh garlic, cheese, or shallot.

Even more than all other truffles, Tuber magnatum is very fragile and does not tolerate any cooking. To fully savour its flavours, you should grate 5 to 10grammes per person over each plate just before serving. White truffle goes perfectly with dishes such as risotto and pasta, as well as meat dishes like the famous Tournedos Rossini. In fact, legend says that this last dish was made for the very first time using Alba white truffle.

Italian white truffles can be kept chilled for 5 to 7days, at between 2°C and 5°C, in a sealed container and covered with absorbent paper, which should be changed daily.