The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) added the search for and extraction of truffles in Italy to its list of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
Truffle is the common name that designates the fruiting bodies of fungi , in the genus Tuber. They are a food highly valued by haute cuisine, for their unique flavor and aroma. Chefs come to pay tens of thousands of dollars for white truffles.
The complete life cycle of truffles takes place on land (underground). They live symbiotic relationships with certain trees. The sizes are variable. The Alba White Truffle National Fair explains that truffles are a spontaneous fungus: currently, there are no cultivation techniques . They are not cultivated, they are “hunted”.
“A truffle hunter and his dog go into the forest in search of this valuable mushroom , guided just by the smell of the animal and by the insight acquired through years of experience. This is the most exciting time for a truffle lover ”, publishes the Alba National White Truffle Fair.
Once the site where the truffle is buried has been found, seekers dig in a second phase the soil to extract it with a special hoe, carefully avoiding damaging the ground and the roots of the trees.
Truffle hunters (tartufai, in Italian) are usually inhabitants of small towns and rural areas. UNESCO points out that the search and extraction of truffles is a practice that requires a set of knowledge and practices that have been transmitted orally for centuries and which is very important in the life of many peasant communities in peninsular Italy,
UNESCO emphasizes that it is a practice that respects the balance of the environment and plant biodiversity.
“The search and extraction of truffles requires having climatic, environmental and botanical knowledge, as well as techniques that allow safeguard natural ecosystems and cultivate the relationship between truffle hunters and their dogs ”, UNESCO shares.
Broadcast knowledge about the search and extraction of truffles accompanied by stories, fables and anecdotes. There is a local identity and solidarity among the seekers, who often organize feasts to celebrate the beginning and the end of the truffle extraction season.
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