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Tartufo bianco, Tuber magnatum pico
White Alba truffle
Appears in
By Antonio Carluccio and Priscilla Carluccio
Published 1997
The Lange area of Piedmont is the capital of the white truffle, or Alba, as it is known in Italy. Although it also grows in Emilia-Romagna, the Marche, Umbria, Tuscany and Calabria, these cannot compare with the Piedmontese Alba, with its intensely pungent scent. Because it is the best and most sought-after truffle, it is also the most expensive, costing up to 5,000,000 lire or £2,500 per kilo.
It is only ever eaten raw, thinly shaved with a special cutter called a mandolino, and lightly sprinkled over a dish to give a hint of its precious flavour. Indeed, it is so intense that if placed in a refrigerator its scent will impregnate all the food in it. I keep a white truffle in the cellar together with fresh free-range eggs, so that after a day or so the eggs will have absorbed so much of the aroma that they will taste of truffle.