- Gradually people know truffle more and more, but today, by saying that we are truffle gatherers, many think about chocolate truffle.” Alavés Ramón Barron Saenz de Lafuente has been collecting truffles for years. In the past, they collected the truffles that were wild born abroad, but about twenty years ago they began to make proper plantations for the formation of this fungus. In fact, truffle is directly associated with tree species like art, oak and avellano. In 2006, the Alavesa Boilurra cooperative was established between several producers.
Truffle is a fungus born in the subsoil. It stands out above all in limestone lands, around the art and roots of oak. “We have plantations of this kind of trees, because the tree and the truffle are symbiotic,” Barron explains. He says that the culture of truffle has been mostly around Campezo, in the towns bordering Estella. For many years, people came from Catalonia to pick up wild truffles, but gradually the activity began to professionalize in the region. They are collected with dogs, able to smell underground truffles.
One of the main objectives of the cooperative is the joint marketing of the truffles they produce, but not the only one: they also organise initiatives for the training and sharing of knowledge throughout the year. “The truffle field is poorly studied, so it is very important for us to share and learn each other’s experiences,” says the productora.Actualmente there are 40 producers in the cooperative. They hire a worker during collection and have an administrative employee for the whole year.
Perishable product
Like all other fungi, truffle is a fresh food, so producers are obliged to market it as quickly as possible. “Truffle can last for eight days. Otherwise, it can dry or freeze,” says the alavés. In the cooperative, the collection takes place on Saturdays and Sundays on the grounds of each producer. Then all the truffle is unified, classified and sold normally all Monday. “We sell parts to nearby and transformative restaurants, but outside here we also sell another in the global wholesale market,” he said. You can also buy online from the cooperative website.
According to the producer, the culture of truffle is gradually spreading in our country, although it is not yet known in other countries. The price of truffle is going to have a lot to do with this fame… In spite of everything, the producer has explained that they are worried about the future because of the variations that climate change can cause in production: “Here this year it has been good, but in Teruel, land of truffle, it has been very bad because it has not rained almost.”