Truffle hunting for White Gold in the Mugello region, Italy

I love everything truffle but never quite grasped why truffles are so ridiculously expensive. Naturally curious about the whole process, I decided to experience it firsthand so I booked a truffle hunting trip for myself and two friends and we all paid our way at 160 euros each. This included a mini class on truffles, a one hour hunt in the nearby oak forest, a light lunch sampling gourmet Tuscan treats and a gift of Cantuccini Toscani biscuits to take home.

On a crisp, sunny day in late December, we drove from Florence, winding through the Tuscan countryside, to the storybook perfect landscapes of Mugello, Italy. We were greeted by two young enthusiastic tour guides and the farm owners' very hairy cat. Later we met our professional hunter, who would accompany us for an hour through the local woods, demonstrating his "every day" hunting activities, which I believe at other times includes; rabbit, grouse, wild boar and deer shooting, stuff I would rather not witness, ever!

Below is a photograph of the pro truffle hunter our tour guides employed, whose name I have rudely forgotten. His trained truffle hunter dog is called Gina and she had several truffle successes during our hunt. She is very cute and every one she found was around the size of a small piece of coal, but thankfully none had her fang marks left in them as she was never allowed to get so close to the goods once she started frantically digging.

Licensed Truffle Hunters in Florence wear regulatory orange beanies and their trusty hunt dogs have to wear orange collars

Our guide was a seasoned local hunter with an encyclopaedic knowledge of the area, accompanied by his trusty, energetic dog and our two tour guides who were young woman with great entrepreneurial skills when realising this idea of providing a truffle hunt experience and renting the premises and forest access from the home owner and later serving up a delicious light lunch with good wine, all from the cosy farmhouse kitchen.

I soon realised I knew absolutely nothing about truffle hunts as I had always thought it was pigs, or even wild boars the cinghiale so famous in Italian cuisine, that were trained to sniff them out, not dogs. However, that is completely wrong. Licensed truffle hunters in Italy only use dogs, and pigs have never been part of the Italian tradition. Turns out, pig truffling is an historically French thing, though dogs are preferred now since pigs are notorious for eating the truffles they find.

We were lucky to have a sunny day for the truffle hunt in Mugello, as it had been very rainy earlier in the week

White truffles are the ultimate prize, their earthy aroma and intense flavour earning them the nickname "white gold." Black truffles, while less extravagant, are still a delight, lending their rich, nutty notes to pastas, risottos, and even scrambled eggs.

Sadly, on our walk, no white truffles were uncovered, which left us wondering that perhaps the hunter was guarding the secret spots where these prized treasures grow..! After all, white truffles command a market price ten times that of black ones. Or maybe there simply weren’t any to be found that day? My two friends were a little sceptical as to whether these truffles had been placed in the ground, but I went along with it and immersed myself in the soily endeavours, believing everything to warrant the money spent on it. That said, Gina dog clearly loved her work and her tail wagged furiously, barking with excitement whenever she found a truffle, her enthusiasm was contagious and a reminder that the hunt itself is as much a joy as the discovery, so I had little time to think it was largely staged!

Our guide encountering another licensed truffle hunter, his competition - polite etiquette ensues :)

The Mugello area has verdant forests and charming medieval villages, with olive groves and vineyards dotted all over the landscape in a manicured fashion, a hive of industry at all corners and every bit as picturesque as Chianti located further south. The region is also renowned for its culinary treasures: robust wines, hearty dishes and, of course, truffles!

Hunting for truffles involves more than just walking through the woods, it is a blend of intuition, skill and trust in the dog, who sniffs the soil like a treasure map. When the dog signals a find, the hunter gently digs, careful not to damage the precious truffle. It is exhilarating to watch the bond between them and it feels less like work and more like an art form passed down through generations. It makes you feel more like a tourist than anything else I have ever imagined as it is so far removed from most people's daily reality.

The oak forests up yonder were a good place for a truffle hunt. The damp and grey days can help their growth, but not when its too wet with biblical rainfall as it had been.

Truffles rely on the right balance of moisture, temperature, and soil chemistry. A dry season can ruin a harvest, while heavy rains can drown their delicate growth. They are elusive not just because of their subterranean nature but because they require such precise natural conditions to thrive. It is not just about the hunt, it is about the perfect partnership between the trees, the soil, and the seasons that make these fungi so rare and prized.

Black truffles are most commonly found around oak, hazelnut, and hornbeam trees. They thrive in well-drained, alkaline soils with plenty of calcium. These truffles prefer areas with mild winters and warm summers, making regions like Tuscany, Provence, and parts of Spain ideal. They grow shallowly, just a few centimetres below the surface, which is why they are easier to locate than their white counterparts.

White truffles are even pickier. They grow in symbiosis with oak, poplar, willow, and lime trees. The soil must be loose, moist, and rich in organic matter, but never waterlogged. Unlike black truffles, white truffles delve deeper into the soil, making them harder to find. Their preferred climate includes cooler temperatures and high humidity, which is why they flourish in regions like Piedmont and, of course, in Mugello in northern Italy.

A black truffle unearthed on our trip and savoured over lunch

We spent roughly one hour immersed in this magical ritual, very fleeting and I could have stayed all day there. The forest was alive with the scent of oak, pine and wet earth and we finally got back to the farmhouse and sat down to sample flakes of our bounty, grated over a local cheese bake and chicken paté, with other bread and truffle spreads and accompanying Tuscan dishes and wine. I abstained from drinking as I was driving us all home to Florence, less than an hour away. I wish I hadn't removed my slightly muddy shoes as had cold feet during lunch.

It is now clear why truffles command such astronomical prices. Their flavour is indescribably luxurious and a perfect reminder that some of nature’s finest gifts come with effort, luck and a precise skill. Mugello, with its chocolate box views and truffle laden forests, was the perfect place to discover this culinary treasure, I just now need to invest in a good torch, camouflage gear, a GPS compass and a very orange beanie and a collar for Daisy dog (though I fear she would stuff her face with them if she was trained to sniff them out, I would have to start digging before her). Saying that, the wild boar would scare the truffles out of me if I went hunting in the Mugello woods, alone!