A $112,000 White Truffle?! At Auction, Philly Embraces Fungi Mania

KRISTEN HARTKE

Bowtie-bedecked auctioneer Samuel Freeman was faced with the unusual task of convincing a crowd to buy something he admits he knows nothing about: the Tartufo Bianco d’Alba, or Alba White Truffle.

“I’ve never auctioned food before,” Freeman says, “and I’d never even eaten a truffle until two days ago.” Apparently that first taste won him over. “It was unbelievable.”

At $458 per ounce once the bidding got underway, those truffles better knock your socks off.

“I think that Americans are fascinated by truffles,” says Mauro Carbone, general manager of Italian tourism company Tu Langhe Roero. Carbone tutored Freeman in the finer points of the rare and earthy fungi.

The white truffle holds a certain mystique in the culinary world, adding to its monetary value. A kind of underground mushroom that fruits around tree roots, truffles can’t be cultivated and used to be foraged by trained pigs — although truffle hunters generally work with dogs these days. “Pigs love the truffles as much as people do,” says Carbone.

The white truffle’s flavor is often likened to garlic, musk, and cabbage — which might not sound that appetizing — so simplicity is key to its preparation. Unlike black truffles, which can be cooked, white truffles are best eaten raw, so they are more commonly found shaved over freshly made pasta or paired with lobster and filet mignon.

Carbone was on hand to explain the individual characteristics of each truffle on the auction block at the 17th annual World Alba White Truffle Charity Auction. The event took place earlier this month simultaneously in Philadelphia and Piedmont, Italy.

Filet mignon with asparagus, celery root purée, red wine sauce and shaved truffles. Kristen Hartke for NPR

“The very thin skin of the truffle is influenced by the soil around it, so no two are the same,” Carbone says. “When you buy a truffle, it’s your truffle. No one else will ever have one just like it.”

As 125 guests arrived at the historic Union League of Philadelphia, they peered into an anteroom off the grand ballroom to assess the five lots of truffles, ranging in size from 210 grams — almost half a pound — up to 580 grams, close to one and a half pounds.

In Italy, 4,000 miles away, the Grande Truffle (a gargantuan knob that tipped the scales at more than two and a half pounds and was considered the biggest prize of the night) was being prepared for bidding via a live simulcast auction.

Bidders in Philadelphia were also able to bid on the giant truffle in Italy, which would have to be flown overnight to the United States should an American bidder prevail — so syndicates were surreptitiously being formed among the bidders, even as the auction began.

“It’s the finest ingredient in the world,” says Joseph Del Raso, chair of the National Italian American Foundation (NIAF). “We knew we had the right venue — and audience — for this event.”…

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