Town of Viano

Historical Origins
The truffle is a fruit of the earth known since ancient times. There are testimonies of his presence in the diet of the Sumerian people and at the time of the patriarch Jacob around 1700 – 1600 BC.
The Greeks called it Hydnon (from which the term “idnologia” derives, the science that deals with truffles) or Hydra, the Latins called it Tuber, from the verb tumere (to swell), the Arabs Ramech Alchamech Tufus or Tomer and Kemas, the Spanish Turma de tierra or cadilla de tierra, the French scams (deriving from the meaning of fraud connected to the theatrical representation of Molière “Tartufe” of 1664, the English Truffle, finally the Germans Hirstbrunst, or Truffel.
The ancient Sumerians used the truffle mixing it with other vegetables such as barley, chickpeas, lentils and mustard, the ancient Athenians are said to have adored it to the point of conferring citizenship to the sons of Cherippo for having invented a new recipe.

Description
The truffle is a fungus belonging to the Ascomycetes. The edible part of the truffle (the so-called tuber) is in practice represented by the fruiting body, which contains the spores responsible for the propagation of the fungus. Truffles are thus hypogean (underground) fungi that form mutualistic symbioses, called mycorrhizae, with the roots of some arboreal plants such as oaks, hazelnuts, hornbeams, poplars, beeches, willows, lime trees, ash trees and, less frequently, some conifers. The fruit bodies of the truffle have variable size, from a few mm in diameter up to several centimeters (size of an apple); They form at different depths in the soil depending on the species of truffle and the type of plant with which they form the mycorrhiza, in any case they can be found at a depth of a few cm, in the case of some summer truffles such as scorzone, up to 15-30 in the case of some winter truffles such as white truffles and black truffles.
Only when the fungus has established a stable mycorrhizal symbiosis with the roots, it gives rise to the typical and sought after fruiting body.
The fruiting body of truffles consists of an external part of coating called peridium and an internal part or gleba (often marbled and veined), more or less compact and fleshy, with different color, aroma and flavor depending on the type of truffle and the plant species with which it is mycorrhizato. Only when the reproductive spores of the truffle are formed and mature does the tuber give off the typical and intense aroma that distinguishes it. Dishes and Ingredients
The truffle is not a very preservable product, but if you take some precautions you can keep it for a while, although it is better to consume it fresh. After harvesting, the truffle is cleaned from the earth with bristle brushes that are not too rigid and then placed in a cool place (refrigerator), inside a glass container, or immersed in rice (to protect it from moisture) or wrapped in porous paper, replaced occasionally, or finally wrapped in a cloth. With these modalities the truffle can be preserved from two or three weeks (the white truffle) up to 30-40 days (black truffles).
In the kitchen, truffles go well with generally simple but substantial dishes, able to highlight and enhance all its peculiar organoleptic characteristics, in particular its intense aroma. It can then be “grated” directly on simple eggs in the pan (very simple but sublime dish), or used as a “rich” condiment for risotto or tagliatelle with butter. Finally, the truffle goes very well with meat, both raw beaten or minced meat, and fillets lightly sautéed and covered with truffle flakes.
(AA. VV edited by P.G. Oliveti, 1999)