WHAT costs P50,000 per 100 grams is hard to find—and you need a pig to do it—is available only on certain months of the year, and is treasured by Italians? It’s white Alba truffles. Sofitel Philippine Plaza has brought this delicacy to add to the holiday cheer.

It’s hard to believe that a cousin to the lowly mushroom can cost that much. But it always has. Since Greek and Roman times, truffles were treasured for the stimulation they were said to give in bed. But it wasn’t only the sex. The composer of “William Tell” and “The Lone Ranger” theme, my husband adds, Guachino Rossini, called them “the Mozart of mushrooms!” So you can hear it as well as taste it. You wonder what kind of mushroom he ate.

Truffles come in black or white. The white variety are more rare, more delicate and grow only in Italy. The black are more prevalent and popular primarily because they’re cheaper and more easily sourced. China is going big with truffles, as in size and quantity, so much so there is no need for gifted pigs to root them out of the ground. Dogs have been trained to do it, as well.

White truffles from Alba are known to be of the best quality. And for this reason, the price can double in as short a time as a week. September and November are the best months to “harvest.”

The soil in the Piedmont area is especially congenial to truffle-growing. The finest are found around the Roero and Langhe hills where fabulous Italian wines like Dolcetto, Barolo and Nebbiolo come from.

During truffle months, there is unusual activity in the market streets of Italy. There are truffle festivals, the most popular of which is held in Alba. But there are festivals, too, in San Miniato, Tuscany, and Acaualagna, Marche. Those with the most delicate and discriminating palates are seen roaming the markets, slipping into dealers’ tents and inspecting what is on offer in the way of truffles.

The experience is said to be heady, what with the variety of subtle aromas swirling in that enclosed space and the wild configurations and shades of a pretty ugly item. Seminars and, best of all, truffle-based dinners are held around town.

But Italy is far and the euro is impossibly expensive, and if you are not invited on a state visit to that part of the world, you will have to make do with Sofitel Philippine Plaza Manila. It held a Tartufo Bianco di Alba Festival at Spiral and Le Bar. Executive Chef Christian Werdenberg proudly announced that he was able to convince Sofitel management to bring in 400 grams of white truffle, setting back their balance sheet by P200,000!

Truffles are usually stored in rice. It keeps the truffles dry and keeps the aroma. The rice also imbibes the unmistakably rich flavor and sinful smell. Eating risotto laced with a bit of truffle oil combined with shavings of white truffle and Parmesan cheese transports you to heaven. Adding visual pleasure to culinary delight, our risotto had pieces of gold leaf scattered around, reminding us that what we were eating wasn’t just good—it was a fortune.

I thought the light bread-cream soup with white Alba truffle was a standout.

Didn’t know whether it was the silky cream or the truffle that did it. My companion swore it had some truffle oil in it, too. For her, a drop or two of truffle oil is the magic potion to perk up an Italian dish. The downside to this cooking secret is that a bottle of truffle oil the size of a medium-sized Mama Sita’s sweet chili sauce will drive up your grocery bill by more than P1,000. And this is the cheap brand.

It is said that white truffle is not made for cooking, perhaps because of its price. It’s also because white truffle has to be appreciated for its exuberant aroma, which to my nostrils had a mellow, aged scent with a bit of garlic (not the Ilocos variety). It does magic with a bland dish like egg pasta tossed in butter and grated cheese. The truffle’s aroma breathes life into a simple pasta.

 White truffle is usually finely shaved (preferably with a truffle shaver, so the shavings are paper-thin) or shredded to give the dish that finishing touch, like when you dab your favorite French perfume behind your ears just before you step out of your car.

For dessert, we were served white Alba truffle and honey-scented maracaibo chocolate brulee with fresh peach compote. This is when I realized that it wasn’t all hype about truffles. The full flavor and enveloping aroma of the chocolate brulée banished all thought of any other chocolate delights you may have experienced in your life thus far.

Now I understand why my lola would never make her galantina without truffles (she used black). We would have to get it for her when we were abroad. No one could make galantina as delicious as my lola’s. And now I know why.

For those who want to give themselves something unique during the holiday season without going too far for it, Sofitel Philippine Plaza is serving white Alba truffle. Hurry, the 400 grams is going fast.

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