HUNTING TRUFFLES WITH CASTILLA-LA MANCHA ME GUSTA
A wonderful day shared with the team from the television programme Castilla-La Mancha me gusta. Encarna, one of the very few women who hunts wild truffles in Spain, introduces presenter Esperanza to the little-known world of truffles and the challenges of harvesting them in their natural habitat. Filmed in the Sierra de Alcaraz.
HUNTING TRUFFLES
A day out truffle hunting with our truffle dogs. Watch Duna detect the truffles and dig with tremendous enthusiasm, then Isis marks the very same spot before Encarna extracts the truffle in no time at all. All the truffles harvested throughout the day are shown at the end.
TRUFFLES UNDER THE SNOW
Sometimes the snow catches us out on a truffle hunting day. It is remarkable to witness the dog’s ability to detect truffles buried beneath a blanket of snow using nothing but its extraordinary sense of smell. The truffle itself — excellent quality and a fine size at 170 grams — was a very welcome surprise.
TRUFFLES IN THE MOUNTAIN
Sometimes you have to climb steep hillsides to reach the truffles. Here you can see the terrain the truffle hunters work in and watch the dog locate truffles growing inside a natural hollow in the ground.
TEACHING A DOG TO HUNT TRUFFLES
First lessons in truffle hunting: in this video, Encarna trains a three-month-old puppy that was found abandoned and has since been adopted by the family.
SURFACE CRACK OF A SUMMER TRUFFLE: TUBER AESTIVUM
The summer truffle grows relatively close to the surface. It is usually harvested between May and July with the help of truffle dogs, but it can also betray its presence by the cracks it creates in the soil above.
TRUFFLE-HUNTING DOGS COMPETITION IN ABEJAR (SPAIN)
For a number of years now, the town of Abejar (Soria) has hosted a truffle fair. Among its highlights is a truffle dog competition, with prizes awarded for the largest truffle found, the greatest number of truffles, and the fastest find. In 2004, Encarna entered with our dog Duna and they took the prize for the quickest truffle find. This video is from 2005: although they found the largest truffle of the day, it was retrieved outside the allotted time and they went home without a trophy.
COLLECTING DESERT TRUFFLES: TERFEZIA CLAVERYI
Terfezia claveryi is one of the desert truffles. It grows in calcareous soils and is found naturally in Spain in symbiosis with the roots of Helianthemum. It is harvested in spring and all you need is a sharp eye, because although it develops underground, once fully grown it cracks the soil surface and may even emerge above ground — you just need to spot those cracks.
COLLECTING DESERT TRUFFLES: TERFEZIA EXTREMADURENSIS
In Extremadura, desert truffles are gathered using a pointed probe. Because of the sandy soil, they rarely crack the surface and have to be located by feel with the probe — a skill that takes considerable practice to master. In this case the species is Terfezia extremadurensis, the white desert truffle, which does emerge above the soil to complete its development and can therefore be picked without the probe.
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Encarna Buendía trufamania@gmail.com encarna@trufamania.com |
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Antonio Rodríguez trufamania@gmail.com antonio@trufamania.com |