White Truffle Season in Alba

Alba is a small medieval town in northern Italy, about an hour from Turin, at the heart of the Langhe hills, home of the white truffle, Tuber magnatum. Each autumn, hunters and their trained dogs slip into the oak and poplar woods at dawn to find what grows underground and gives itself away only by scent. The prize is shaved raw, never cooked, over tajarin or risotto. The season opens in October with the town's International White Truffle Fair, held on weekends through the autumn.