Just 15 minutes away from dreamy Motovun, few weeks ago I did something I have been wanting to do for ages – a truffle hunting experience with Karlić family, one of the leading truffle hunting families in truffle gastronomy of Croatian magical peninsula of Istria.
I had the chance to participate in a white truffle hunting experience, which is rare as the white truffle itself. Actually, the main difference is, white truffle grows only in Croatia and Italy and only in short period (from September to January), while black truffle can be cultivated and it grows all year round. Now, when you know the main difference you will maybe understand its value and therefore – the price.
I thought whether I should or not describe truffle hunting experience in detail, but I decided I will just give you a glimpse of it. Let me just tell you this was one of the best experiences in my life, why – because I saw directly how hard this family works, for three generations already, how emotional they are and how they treat their dogs, which is so important to me. Honestly I was on the verge of tears when I saw the connection between dogs and their owner. They have been training them ever since they were three months old, the connection they have is just crazy and I was deeply touched by it. Photography speaks thousand words – so I will leave you with that for a second.
After truffle hunting in woods nearby, I had the chance to do the truffle tasting, which was out of this world. What they always do for their guests is buttery frittata with fresh truffles (trust me, they are generous while shaving fresh truffles on top), you get the chance to try their delicacies like charcuterie boards with selection of cheeses with truffles, Truffela (black and white chocolate spread with truffles) and gin with truffles. Also, they are also prepared to offer you vegan and vegetarian options of tasting, you just need to ask. My absolute favorite was olives and truffle spread and also balsamic vinegar with truffles.
They do this tour all year round, so I would definitely recommend to do it when in magical Istria. Fall would be just about the perfect time for a tour because Istria is painted in magnificent hues of brown, red and orange and you get to experience that part as well.
Photographed by Alessia Stelko.