Costlier than gold: the Périgord truffle of France and the white Alba truffle of the Piedmont, in Italy. Photos by Kelly Cline | IST.

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December 2006
Updated January 2009

Product Reviews / Main Nibbles / Vegetables

Truffles: An Overview & Glossary

Page 12: Truffle Tours, Truffle Books

This is Page 12 of a 12-page article. Click on the black links below to visit other pages.

• Page 1: Truffle Overview
• Page 2: Great Truffles, Not So Great Truffles
• Page 2: Truffle Scams
• Page 3: Buying Truffles
• Page 4: Storing & Handling Truffles
• Page 5: Canned Truffles, Truffles & Wine
• Page 6: Truffle Glossary: Black Truffles
• Page 7: Truffle Glossary: Black Truffles, Continued
• Page 8: Truffle Glossary, White Truffles
• Page 9: Truffle Glossary: Other Truffle Terms
• Page 10: Truffle Oil
• Page 11: Recipes & Quick Serving Suggestions
• Page 12: Truffle Tours
• Page 12: Books About Truffles

Truffle Tours

If your idea of a vacation is food and wine travel, consider a fall trip to northern Italy, where you can take in a weekend truffle fair and surround yourself with aromas of truffle so heady, you will swoon. The restaurants are full of truffle dishes at the time, and you can have truffles at dinner in local restaurants.

• The town of Alba, in Piemonte, has the best-known fair, which runs from late September through mid-November and culminates in the World Truffle Auction. Many truffles harvested throughout central and northern Italy are brought to Alba for sale because Alba truffles command better prices.
• Tuscany has the festivals of San Miniato, and the region of Marche, on the Mediterranean coast, has a festival in Acqualagna.

The festivals take place over several weekends in September, October and November. Acqualagna also holds a black truffle festival on the next-to-last Sunday of February, and a summer black truffle festival in August. Contact your travel agent to find a specialist in truffle tours; or to put together a deluxe custom trip for 10 or more people tailored to your specific interests (truffle markets plus sightseeing, top restaurants, vineyard trips, shopping, etc.) contact X.O. Travel Consultants, Ltd. at 1.212.947.5530.

Books About Truffles

If you’d like to learn more about truffles, here are two books packed with information, that also make beautiful gifts (with or without a pound of fresh truffles attached).

Truffles: Ultimate Luxury, Everyday Pleasure, by Rosario Safina and Judith Sutton. The history, types of truffles and truffle products plus 100 simple and delicious recipes for the home cook: soups, appetizers, entrees, etc.  The recipes can be used everyday as well as for special occasions; and the explanations of truffle types and guidelines on buying are extremely useful, especially for the more affordable products like truffle butter and truffle cheese. Click here for more information or to purchase.		Caviar, Truffles, and Foie Gras: Recipes for Divine Indulgence, by Katherine Alford. A well-researched introduction to each of these luxury foods, along with recipes for every course. Executive sous-chef at a top restaurant, Alford’s recipes range from the indulgent to those which use modest amounts of the costly ingredients for big impact. A valuable addition to any cookbook collection. Click here for more information or to purchase.

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