Searching for that elusive truffle

An excerpt from my novel “Truffle Hunt,” about why so many people trudge into the woods looking for truffles.

My novel Truffle Hunt
available for download

There must be a pretty stong motivation for hundreds, maybe thousands of men and women to get up before dawn every morning and chase their dogs through the Motovun Forest in the cold and blustery conditions of fall and winter.  Even with the forest shrinking, the tonnage of the harvest falling, and more tourists descending into Istria every year, they keep trudging through the forest every morning at daybreak.

And the reason is pretty simple.  Every day spent looking for truffles gets them one day closer to that truffle lottery ticket, that one in a million truffle growing somewhere under an oak tree in the woods.  Maybe it’s the tree that your dog took some extra time sniffing yesterday, but it wasn’t ready for digging.  Maybe today, it will be ready.  Maybe he’ll find it.  Maybe tomorrow.  Maybe next week.  Or maybe you go home with a few marbles in your pocket, too small and nicked up to sell.  You’ll clean them off and shave them over your family’s pasta tonight.  And go back into the forest tomorrow.

About the Author

Brent Petersen is the Editor-in-Chief of Destination Eat Drink. He currently resides in Setubal, Portugal. Brent has written the novel “Truffle Hunt” (Eckhartz Press) and the short story collection “That Bird.” He’s also written dozens of foodie travel guides to cities around the world on Destination Eat Drink, including in-depth eating and drinking guides to Lisbon, Porto, Sintra, Monsaraz, and Evora in Portugal. Brent’s podcast, also called Destination Eat Drink, is available on all major podcasting platforms and is distributed by the Radio Misfits Podcast Network.