Truffle Season 2009

Two truffle fairs to visit in the Monferrato

The 2009 Truffle season in Piedmont, north Italy started on October 3 in the city of Alba, the truffle capital. Alba presents an international extravaganza devoted to the white truffle Tuber Magnatum Pico. However, even the smaller communities throughout the Monferrato and Langhe offer great eating and diverse festivities. Remarkable is that the smaller truffle fairs in the Monferrato boast a strong reputation for not only offering excellent truffle and Piemontese cuisine, but let one experience up close and personal the Piedmontese culture—so, I visited two local Monferrine fairs.

Truffles

The Montiglio Monferrato truffle fair takes place on the first two Sundays of October each year. And, on the second weekend of October is the Odalengo Piccolo Truffle fair. Odalengo Piccolo may only be a town of less than 300 inhabitants, however, do not let its small size deter you from visiting this delightful fair.

Montiglio Monferrato—called “Montij Monfra” in Piedmontese—is located in the Valle Versa and is situated on a hill overlooking the Alto Monferrato landscape. And, like so many towns in the region, Montiglio has a long cultural history dating from the early middle ages. Montiglio's castle dates from the thirteenth century, but was restored after being destroyed in the fourteeth century. The castle is perched at the very top of Montiglio and features a beautiful Florentine tower. In the castle's garden stands the romanesque style Cappella di Sant'Andrea (St. Andrew's Chapel). The chapel is remarkable because it features one of the largest collections of frescoes in Piedmont—eight in total—dating from the 14thCentury. If one is an art history lover, then the chapel is a must see. The Cappella Sant'Andrea is not commonly open to visitors. However, during the annual truffle fair and other festivals, the Montiglio castle garden gate is open, thereby allowing entrance to Cappella di Sant'Andrea.

Truffle festival stand

Crowds of people moved up the hilly landscape of the town, eagerly pressing towards the main dining event. I talked with many visitors who traveled to Montiglio just to get an early start on eating the truffles of the season.

The main eating venue in Monigilio was the Pro Locco Tent. Here the Pro Locco community of volunteers—of all ages—worked as cooks, cashiers and waiters. The menu featured the black summer tuffle tartufi neri Estivi (Tuber aestivum). While the famous white truffle may be the most desired species to eat, the minor tuffles also tempt the tastebuds. They are best eaten on a fresh salad, tartare, eggs or a pasta dish. While the Tartufi Neri Estivi can be bought at a much lower price then its famous cousin the Tuber Magnatum Pico, nevertheless it is a treat to eat. The menu was very reasonable in price and delicious with a bottle of Barbera d'Asti wine. The Pro Locco dining tent was completely packed and the waiting time was long, but people did not seem to mind. Local people came with baskets, ordered their food from the kitchen and then took it away to eat. I talked with a group of people from Torino who were very excited about this fair because of the good reputation and the good food offerings on the menu.

In Montiglio Monferrato and Odalengo Piccolo the food markets during the truffle festivities are spread throughout the towns. It is overwhelming to see all the truffles, varioius truffle products, and huge piles of porcini funghi . And, squash are popular too. Never in my life did I ever see such an unusual variety of winter squash! Carrying a large basket to the market is really a good idea, since there is so much to sample, eat and buy—you would regret it if you didn't bring a basket. Various species of Truffles can be bought at the markets, such as the white truffle Tuber Magnatum Pico of Piedmont and varieties of black truffles. The white truffle, however, is a rarity this autumn, due to the extreme hot and dry conditions of this past summer. But this does not deter the crowds who come from near and far to experience the truffle season. It is not important to only eat the white truffle, as the lesser balck varieties are good eating too.

Truffle festival, Montiglio Monferrato

Last but not least, the region's specialty sweet of the Autumn season is the Torta alla Monferrina: a cake made of apples, figs, squash, raisins, amaretti, eggs, sugar, dark chocolate, hazelnuts, walnuts and a splash of rum.

Truffles always hold the spotlight, but the Porcini, a large mushroom, which grows in the forests of the Monferrato and the Langhe during the months of September—soon after the rains begin—is another Piedmontese delicacy. The wooded areas are home to both the truffles and the porcinis. At the food market tables typically display piles of beautiful porcini. Porcini are eaten cooked or they are dried for use in making sauces. Porcini, however, taste best when they are picked fresh, cooked and then garnished with lots of fresh parsely.

Next on the agenda was to experience the truffle fair of Odalengo Piccolo, called “Audalengh Cit” in Piedmontese. The village is nestled in yet another region of the Monferrato. As one approaches the village one sees a sign written in Piedmontese: “Al Pais di Pum d'na Vira”. It translates into: “The town of the apples from the old times”. As you will see later, it has a special meaning.

Fun at the truffle festival

The community of Odalengo Piccolo and its volunteers presented a beautiful fair, so creative and inspirational. The first thing I noted was how I barely heard any Italian spoken, rather it was Piedmontese—the local Monferrine version of the dialect. Hearing Piedmontese set the festive tone for the rest of the weekend. Saturday night was the grand opening with good food, good people, delicious wine and traditional Piedmontese music.

Sunday morning opened with a simulated truffle hunt, demonstrating how the dogs sniff out the truffle. There is not one breed of dog that can be a truffle expert—many breeds are represented. Important characteristics are: strong bond with the owner, obedient, intelligent, quiet, medium physique, and must love to dig. That was enlightening. Following the crowd, I discovered the exhibition of endangered local antique apple varieties in the Piedmont. Odalengo Piccolo is known in Piedmont as a village having a strong tradition for apple cultivation for many centuries already. Fifty fresh-picked antique varieties were on display! These apples are all locally grown as part of the Piedmont region's effort to conserve biodiversity of antique native apple, pear and plum species. Mr. Claudio Caramellino, the organizer of the exhibition, has an apple orchard in Odalengo Piccolo, where he cultivates endangered apple species and produces the most delicious apple cider.

A large dining tent was set up in the middle of the village, for saturday night dinner and sunday noon dinner, offering a wide variety of Piedmontese specialities: crostini with Toma chees and truffles, salami made with turffles, fritto misto, frittelle di mele, agnolotti Monferine, bollito, torta Monferrina, and much more. The tent was packed with people who did not want to miss a great meal. The truffle season signifies a time when people love to meet with family and friends, sitting and eating together on a long table—an atmosphere of enticing food pleasure.

As the day progressed, the music dominated the air, putting a lively step into one's walk. A local Piedmontese musical group sat and played outside the large dining tent. The lively music was produced by playing an assortment of traditional folk instruments: various accordians, a hurdy-gurdy, a zampogna (type of bagpipe), diverse wind instruments, and some rare instruments dating from the 1800's, putting out some unusual sounds. Plenty of singing in Piedmontese accompanied the music. Four couples presented traditional Piedmontese dancing. The onlookers gradually started to dance too. Book and linguistic enthusiasts had the opportunity to view and buy books on Piedmontese culture. Pier Giuseppe Bosco, was present at the fair, presenting his book on Piedmontese proverbs, poetry and sayings. Bosco is a modern day Piedmontese “Renaissance” man—a lawyer, philosopher, linguist, musician, singer, painter and writer.

A bit removed from the main site of the fair, in the garden of a small chapel, a large crowd of people gathered to watch an exhibition of birds of prey. The handler of the owls and falcons demonstrated how these birds can be taught to hunt on command; apparently they are still used by farmers in Europe to hunt for rodents. The children in the audience were quite intrigued by these birds and some even had the honor of participating in the demonstration. The community of Odalengo Piccolo also offered children a beautiful and funny marionette theatrical performance.

If you are a truffle enthusiast, then it is worth exploring all the diverse truffle fairs throughout Piedmont's Monferrato and Langhe, in the provinces of Alessandria (AL), Asti (AT) and Cuneo (CN).

2009 Truffle Fairs of Piedmont, north Italy:

Alba International Truffle Fair (CN): 3 October – 8 November

Montiglio Monferrato (AT): 4 and 11 October

Odalengo Piccolo (AL): 10 and 11 October

Mondovi (CN): 30 October – 1 November

Alessandria (AL): 8 November

Canelli (AT) 8 November

San Sebastiano Curone (AL) 15 November

Murisengo (AL): 15 and 22 November

Cerrina Monferrato (AL) fourth Sunday in November

Keep this point in mind when organizing a trip to Piedmont, Italy: the fairs take place on the same weekends every year for the months of September, October and November.

If you want to see breathtaking scenery, walk through very old villages, hear Piedmontese spoken, drink delcious red wine, and, of course, eat the truffles, then come and visit Piedmont.

Spero che anche voi goderete come me questi bei posti, Saluti......

By Karin Susan Fester

Ponzano Monferrato, Moncalvo, Italy

email: karinfstr@yahoo.com