Page 62 - PROTAGONIST-120

Truffle shaver by Alessi. Photo by Davide Dutto.
Courtesy Ente Turismo Langhe Monferrato Roero.
With contribution of Claudio Battaglino

experience with his brothers in Alba Mora, in monly called Biancone or White Trifola, with a
his early thirties he moved to Turin, vowing not diameter between 2 and 9 centimeters, that
to look back. In the time spent working in his grows in marly, marly-clayey, marly calcareous,
tavern on Via Nizza, he always observed the sandy-silty, deep, and moist soils in summer.
ways of the world, never missing a single de- It forms underground, up to a maximum of 1 Velvety to the touch, it has an intense aroma, reminiscent of methane gas. It is harvested from September to the end of January and should be consumed almost always raw, after being put under
tail. Soon he realized that the trifole sold for meter, in symbiosis with trees such as oaks,
few pennies in the Langhe were way more willows, limes, and poplars from whose roots it
expensive in Turin. It was then that, being ho- absorbs mineral salts and water that then de-
mesick and with a family to support, he found termine its color and fragrance. Velvety to the
a way to exploit that treasure. Back in Alba in touch, it has an intense aroma, reminiscent of
1928, he bought the Albergo Ristorante Savo- methane gas. It is harvested from September
na and embarked on his greatest adventure. to the end of January and should be consu-
He founded the first company to market and med almost always raw, after being put under
process the Alba white truffle, Morra Tartufi, cold water to eliminate excess dirt. Cooking it
and he conceived the first "exhibition of Lan- would rapidly alter its flavor and aroma. The
ghe prized truffles," renamed in 1930 Fiera dei white truffle is rare because it is impossible to
Tartufi d'Alba, to this day the pride and joy of grow, which makes it one of the most expensive
the town, a crossroads of exchanges, evalua- products in the world. According to the latest
tions, presentations of the many truffle “varia- Borsino del Tartufo di Alba quotation the price
tions”: butters, oils, and salts. Local culinary for 100 grams is around 300 dollars. Any other
delights were celebrated with chefs, writers, low-cost option means the product is probably
artists, and anyone who shares a passion for fake or the competition is not that fair. There
good food. Morra's most ingenious idea was have been many cases of truffles passed off as
giving, every year at the Fair, the biggest truf- Italian, recently, but actually come from Croa-
fle to the celebrities of the time, like Marilyn tia, Romania, and Istria, as reported by Coldi-
Monroe, Winston Churchill, Alfred Hitchcock retti that is committed to request transaction
(who in 1959, after visiting the Langhe, wrote traceability and mandatory origin indication. cold water to eliminate excess dirt.
a never-produced screenplay, The Mystery Economic globalization, however, also presents
of the Truffle Hunter), and politicians such as new challenges and calls for new ideas, crea-
Harry Truman and Haile Selassie. A tradition tivity, and adaptation. Ideally linked to Morra's
that survived after his death in 1963, which fertile brain is the Biuté Cosmetics project, a
made his trifole an object of desire. complete and natural line of local skin products
But what are, exactly, the peculiar featu- that use the tuber amino-acids and minerals to
res of the Alba white truffle? A first scientific moisturize the skin, fight wrinkles, and boost the
definition dates back to 1831, when the botanist mood of users. And it brings the product-expe-
and mycologist Carlo Vittadini described it in rience into new territories, such as cosmetics.
his Monographia Tuberacearum as a white-o- To add, one by one, other remarkable stories
cher globous, irregular-shaped tuber, com- about land, identity, and pride.

60 Food Protagonist