Truffle Hunting in Umbria (Sept 2025)
Umbria produces the best and most truffles of all the regions of Italy.
We spent a day with the truffle hunters of the village Pettino. The village is comprised of 17 families — with each family boasting at least one truffle hunter. All the families together own 2400 acres of land in and around Pettino and their livelihood is largely truffle hunting, farming (mainly feed for livestock, some lentils and other), rearing cows for their meat and sheep for meat or wool.
The school is a 40 minute bus ride away- which the villagers fondly call the Snooze Bus — as children typically sleep on the way to and from school.
The youth move out to make their careers, often returning post 40–50 yrs to become truffle hunters.
Truffles (both -the black and white variety) grow under the oak, birch, popular and hazelnut trees. The truffles to grow have to pass through the alimentary canal of animals to take root and then grow underground at a shallow depth. When they are ripe they release a particular scent by which the animals know where to dig.
Traditionally pigs were used for this — but they had a tendency to eat the truffles themselves rather than share with the humans. So now dogs ae used for the same- of course they need to be trained.
Well Back to our trip…
A beautiful day- cool with the clouds playing tag with the sun. We reach the village — a rustic setting- houses clustered together, built with bricks and/or stone some with backyards with grass and porch swings others barren with locked barns. Owners of the locked premises moved to the city and would return in winter (If I recall)
Climbed up the mountain to the forest. Were driven in a 4-wheel drive with the truffle hunters (can easily see them as Brando’s henchmen in The Godfather except that the hunters were dressed in camouflage and hiking boots) No sign of the dogs but spied some biscuits in the jeep.
Imagine a path running up ….more than a hill and less than a mountain with bushes and trees on either side, with either deep valleys dotted by fields, some verdant green others ploughed thru with drying hay stack rolls (the main crop of the area) yet others with sheep or cows grazing and of course the surrounding hills with silver paths running through in the distance.
On top of the hill we stopped and there and behold- were the dogs in their cages in the boot of the jeep. They were so frisky and excited — just waiting to be let out.
They streaked up the path as soon as they were let out and their trainers had a tough time holding them back.
In no time at all the dogs had rutted around tree bases and dug up the truffles — giving them to their trainers for the biscuits — their reward
Truffles, apparently can be had cold as well as warmed and the taste changes with the temperature.
Our guides cooked up scrambled eggs and shaved truffles we had collected on top of them which they served with red/ white wine and homemade cheese while we enjoyed viewing the grazing sheep in the fields below.
Fun Fact: the sheep that give milk (for cheese) and those that give wool are different varieties. The same sheep cannot do both.
The sheep were guarded by many huge dogs- the Marmarre Guard dogs. Some of them wore iron spiked collars around their necks- to prevent the wolves from choking them in a stronghold
These huge dogs seemed cuddly and cute but we warned not to try and pet them as they could turn ferocious in a blink of the eye if they felt threatened.
The retired guard dogs, lolling around in the village, were however extremely friendly and docile.
Back to the village where we were served toasted bread (on the open oven as below) with truffle oil and cheese as well as with a warmed truffle pate on bread, sausages and prosciutto — all fresh and indigenous.
Francesca, the elected President/ head woman of the village and also the one who ran the tour — made fresh pasta from scratch in front of us using just semolina and eggs and a lot of bicep and tricep muscles (Kneading, rolling) using a rolling pin at least 3 feet long if not more to roll the paste sheet till it was almost transparent. folded it and cut it- lifting the strips with a knife
There was a lot of cured meat hanging from the ceiling wrapped in some kind of mesh- no smell, no flies. Wish our butchers in Delhi could do something similar.
On to their dining room where we were served fresh pasta with olive oil and fresh truffle shavings, lots of wine and a sweet mouse served with black berry sauce (made from the wild black berries growing in the region)
All in all a very satisfying experience which pampered all senses and the brain
The tour was slightly pricy but so worth it.
Credits for the pictures here : Obie, Anil