The Truffle of Orvieto

Few people know that Orvieto is an area rich in truffles. Orvieto, with its gentle hilly landscape, is in fact an immense truffle ground; they may be found in black and white, in Summer and in Autumn.
This region contrasts the fine flavor of the wrinkled black truffle with the unmistakable acuity of aromas of the aristocratic white truffle and adds, together with a whole series of “mid-season” truffles, the curious fragrance of the summer Scorzone.
Harvesting takes place only at certain times of the year, that is, when the spores are mature, and solicits the help of dogs, in order to avoid the unnecessary “hoeing” of the soil, which would compromise the precious result.
The fruiting body must be extracted in perfect ripening conditions, otherwise it completely lacks the truffle scent.
The white truffle is the rarest and most prized, and its scientific name is Tuber Magnatum Pico.
Few know that Theophrastus, a pupil of Aristotle, in his Botany studies, made a first scientific classification of it, attributing the birth of the truffle to the combination, of divine matrix, between rain and thunder.
In the Middle Ages, however, it was defined as a degenerative growth of the soil; some even considered it to be the devil’s or the witches’ food and others claimed that it was the link between the animal and the vegetable kingdom.
It matures from October until the end of December, but in particularly sheltered areas it may be found until the end of January.
During this time of year you can enjoy truffles at our Invinum Restaurant, in combination with the best dishes offered by our chef such as the “umbrichelli” with capocollo, fennel and white truffle, strozzapreti with spinach cream, burratina and black truffle, or the simple bruschetta with homemade bread, new oil from the Altarocca oil mill and white truffle.
It is served cut into very thin slices. For its more decisive aroma, it is most accentuated on simple, warm dishes, which highlight its aroma.