Truffle Heaven in Croatia
Published in The Straits Times, 25 Feb 2018:
https://www.straitstimes.com/lifestyle/travel/truffle-heaven-in-croatia
Lola races ahead, darting around and sniffing the base of oak trees.
I watch the three-year-old cocker spaniel as we tread deeper into Croatia's dense Motovun forest, which is now shedding its greens for the yellows and burnt oranges of autumn.
It is a cool October morning, prime season for white truffles, hunted mainly between September and November.
Lola barks wildly and begins clawing the ground frenetically.
"Pokaze!" Mr Valter, our truffle hunter hollers repeatedly. "Pokaze, Lola!" (Show, he is saying in Croatian.)
We quicken our pace. Mr Valter restrains Lola and her trailing one-year-old puppy with one hand, adeptly excavating the moist, dark soil with the other using a small shovel.
"This is like fishing, but in a forest," remarks a fellow traveller.
Truffles grow underground and their scent is detected by specially-trained dogs.
"White truffle," Mr Valter proclaims as he uncovers a walnut-sized bulb. "Small but whole."
The truffle, I cannot help but think, looks like something the dog excreted, rather than discovered.
Then I catch a whiff of the fungus - pungent but sensual, sulphurous, musky and highly intoxicating.
The white truffle - or tuber magnatum pico, prized and priciest among truffles - is what has drawn me to Istria, a heart-shaped peninsular in the north-western corner of Croatia.
While the Istrian truffle is recognised to be of a superior grade, the culture here is more down-to-earth than that of more renowned markets such as Alba in Italy or Perigord in France.
Croatia is famous for its alluring coastal cities by sapphire waters, such as Dubrovnik, but over the next three days, I will realise the wonders of straying beyond the beaten track to discover Istria's hilly, wooded interior.
And it is much more than truffles. Istria has been likened to "Tuscany 50 years ago", and I can see why.
The peninsula offers a wealth of scenic rolling landscapes, mediaeval towns surrounded by thick stone walls perched atop hills, as well as high-quality wines, esteemed olive oils, and certainly, truffles - locally considered its "gastronomic diamond" - all of which are raising Istria's profile as a gourmet destination without the crowds, for now.
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