Inside the most typical Apennine landscape and surrounded by holm oak and oak forests, there is the small town of Acqualagna, in the valley of Catria and Nerone Mounts. A very unique climatic and soil characteristics to host one of the most appreciates products in the world: the truffle.
The truffle is a hypogeum mushroom, with a tuberous body, an internal part called ‘gleba’, an external part called ‘peridio’ and grows in symbiosis with another organism: the darkness. The smell of humid soil and nature: this is its perfect habitat.
The truffle is not able to complete the photosynthesis and needs nutrition from other plants growing on the surface. This is why it stays so close to oaks, willows, poplars, holm oaks, hazels, conifers and lindens. They establish a mutual exchange relationship. The truffle gives to the other trees water and mineral salts; at the same time, they give it the necessary sugar to grow.
The intense perfume is a call for trained dogs to find truffles. The cavatori (this is the name of truffle hunters) keep secret the position of these places, but sometimes they are publically known.
The ‘tartufaie’ (except for white truffle) can also be artificially created and privatized.
Once the dog recognizes the smell of the truffle, it runs there and starts to dig. If the truffle is on the surface and the dog well trained, the job of the hunter will be simple: the dog digs collects the truffle with its mouth and brings it to the ‘cavatore’, who gives it a special meal as a prize. This is the typical scene just before the truffle discover.
T&C TARTUFI
In Acqualagna was born the T&C TARTUFI company, that from 25 years sells with passion and dedication these amazing products.
Once the truffle is picked, the company selects it carefully according to specific criteria. Each transformation phasis is done inside their internal lab; in this way, they can control directly the products and verify the quality.
They use only high-quality raw material and innovative techniques to offer the right product for truffle lovers. T&C company has a wide range of products with authentic and unique flavours.
ENJOY MARCHE selected the most classical and used sauce of the tradition, the Tartufata sauce. It can be used paired to salty snacks or as a sauce for pasta.