Nighttime Truffle Hunting with a Dog in Alba

This is the eighth post in the Around the World Birthday Extravaganza Series. Because there will be many, many posts in this series, please scroll to the bottom to see all the other posts in this series.

Truffles, especially white Alba truffles, are rare and extremely difficult to find.

White truffles are unique because they can’t be cultivated. There’s something magical about the soil, the climate, elevation, and general conditions around Alba that make it one of the only places in the world where white truffles will grow. They have a symbiotic relationship with specific types of trees, growing underground near tree roots in the damp Piedmontese forests.

It takes a very specially trained dog to find them.

Truffles are easier to find at night. There's less noise to distract the dogs, and the soil aerates at night, allowing truffle fumes to waft up more strongly. We went on our nighttime truffle hunting adventure with Marco Varaldo, a third-generation truffle hunter.
He started out by teaching us a bit of background about the white truffles. Marco explained to us about the symbiotic relationship between truffles and trees, showing us examples of the most common trees. Marco spoke in Italian, so we were thankful that our tour guide Robert (in the orange jacket) could translate for us! (yep, that's me in the puffy coat - it was a bit chilly at night!)

And then, we were off! The ground can be quite muddy, so our tour guide Robert had kindly provided us with tall rubber boots to wear (which was very helpful!).  Yep, that's Bryan in his puffy coat!

We reached a wooden gate, which Marco opened to let us through.

Truffle dogs tend to be white because they are easier to see at night.

This truffle dog, a female named Rocky, was very, very talented. If Rocky sensed that a truffle was nearby, her tail would start wagging. Then she would show Marco where the spot was.

Once Marco came over she would start digging.

Score! Can you find the white truffle?

It's always tricky to control the digging. You want the dog to locate the truffle, but you don't want the dog to damage the truffle in any way. During our hunt, Rocky accidentally nicked one of the white Alba truffles she found. Unfortunately, a small nick can devalue a truffle significantly, because once the outer skin is compromised, the truffle will lose its flavor a lot faster.

Rocky gets rewarded every time she finds a white truffle. Occasionally there will be a false alarm. Even in those cases, though, Marco still gives Rocky a treat to thank her for her hard work.

Photo credit: Robert Alexander from Travel Langhe

It was very exciting whenever Rocky found a white truffle.

Photo credit: Robert Alexander from Travel Langhe

Silly selfie with a truffle. Everybody wanted a photo with the white truffle.


Straight from the dirt, the truffles smelled amazing.

Photo credit: Robert Alexander from Travel Langhe

After about an hour and a half, the truffle hunt ended. The final count for the nighttime hunt was three white Alba truffles. There was a Singaporean lady and her son who was with us on the truffle hunt. They ended up buying all three truffles (!) for around 300 Euros. I think they were to going to share it with the rest of their family.

Good job Rocky!

Truffle hunting is not too expensive and is quite fun. In our case it cost an extra 25 euros per person for the hunt, which included transportation, the boots, and the truffle hunter's time. Of course, the hunt itself does not include the white truffles, you have to pay for that yourself! There are other tours out there that include a truffle meal with the truffles that were found, though we did not do that this time around!

Up next! Dinner in Alba at Osteria dell Arco.

All Posts In This Series
Around the World Birthday Extravaganza
Alba White Truffle Fair
Osteria Dei Sognatori - A Traditional Piedmontese Dinner
Italy Wine Tour - Barbaresco
Lunch at Donna Selvatica in Neive, Italy
Dinner at a Truffle Hunter's Inn - Tra Art e Querce
G.D.Vajra Winery
Trattoria Della Posta in Montfort D'Alba