Let’s put this story on the map first. Europe. Croatia. Istria.
Central Istria. Mirna River Valley. Motovun Forest. Found it! Truffles? Yes, truffles as well! Allow me to try to explain. The Motovun Forest not only offers green peacefulness, but also hides secret treasures, hidden in the soil. They are called truffles, tartufi in Croatian.
Truffle is a
strong-smelling underground fungus which grows buried in the soil in the woods. Although hidden in the soil, it
can be found with the aid of trained dogs or sometimes pigs. The most common truffles are white or black. If you were wondering how big the truffles can be, I am happy to inform you that
the biggest one was the white one, found in 1999 here, in Central Istria in Croatia. The truffle weighed 1.31 kilos! Yes, sometimes size does matter. And sometimes such achievements can be listed even in the
Guinness Book of Records as it was the case with this 1.31-kilo heavy truffle. It was recorded as the biggest one ever found. A truffle, an irregular potato shaped mushroom was already discovered and used in Roman times. And the Romans knew how to enjoy life: especially by enjoying culinary delicacies! Indeed. Truffles are considered to be a gastronomic speciality! Truffles,
served as an appetizer, main dish or desert, are a real gastronomic delight! No matter if made simply with fried eggs, served with home made pasta, cheese, meat, Istrian olive oil or raw over a salad or put in an ice-cream – there are numerous possibilities. One thing, though, is for sure: you'll see that the truffle is rightly called the “gastronomic king”!
Truffle
season lasts from September until December. The high season is in October.
Autumn is the right season to taste truffles. In a small town of
Livade in Central Istria, every year in this period an event called “The Truffle Days” is organized. The Truffle Days are held between 12th of September and 8th of November 2015 also in
small towns of Buzet, Motovun and Buje. This is a unique opportunity to experience Istrian cultural and nature heritage and taste the delicious gastronomic specialities made with truffles. And if you ask the locals, the truffle is also considered to be an aphrodisiac. So there is only one way to check if this is true: come to Istria in Croatia and try it out while staying in one of our beautiful
villas in Motovun,
villas in Buzet and villages nearby.
Nikolina Mladic
1.10.2015
MY ISTRIA GUIDE
