The beautiful forests of Transylvania host a huge variety of wildlife and delicious produce. We love foraging wild plants, herbs and mushrooms, but the most spectacular edible treasures to be found are truffles - the black gold of the Transylvanian Wilderness! Our Curated Truffle Hunting Experiences provide our guests with unique and authentic experiences during their stay in the tranquility of the Transylvanian village of Cund. Over the last 15 years we have been introducing our guests to hunting for truffles and preparing a huge variety of special and unique dishes with Truffles in the Valea Verde Restaurant by Jonas Schäfer. We offer a variety of different experiences for our guests - all truffle related and a wonderful treat for young and old alike!
Truffles have been known to mankind for a long time, the first ever recorded mention of truffles was probably 3000 years ago by the Egyptian pharaoh Cheops. The culinary fascination for these mushrooms was fueled by French chefs in the 18th century and quickly spread through aristocratic households and royal palaces all over Europe. Nowadays truffles are a staple item on high end restaurant menus.
In the Transylvanian forests we can find a variety of local truffles, which all grow in a symbiotic relationship with its host - a tree. Truffles grow underground and are connected by tiny micro spors with their host tree. Those host trees can be oaks, hazelnuts, beech or hornbeam trees and need a very specific mixture of sunlight, water and elevation to flourish.
Most animals love truffles and the majority of truffles are eaten by wild animals like deer, foxes, mice or bears… Truffle hunting is traditionally done by well trained pigs or dogs, in recent years the majority of professional truffle hunting is however done by trained dogs. Though one can actually train most dogs to look for truffles, some breeds are better suited for the job. The most famous breed are Italian Lagotto Romagnolo, but also pointers, labradors or vislar are highly appreciated. The training of a truffle dog is best started at a very early age and some of the well trained dogs even bring their precious finds to their owners. At the Valea Verde we work with several truffle hunters and use well trained and cared for dogs.
The first truffles of the season appear in the beginning of summer and are amply called summer truffles, The summer truffle has a very subtle smell and taste and is found nearly on the surface of the forest. It´s interior is nearly white with faint marbling and gastronomic value due to its subtle aroma not too high, though a nice pasta with summer truffles can be a wonderful treat on a hot summer day….!
Towards autumn you can find the Burgundy truffle with its rich and pungent smell and aroma. Depending on the weather, this truffle retracts further into the ground the colder it gets and is at its peak from mid October to mid November. Its interior has a finely marbled black interior, but the skin has a similar coarse feel to it as the summer truffle!
The champion of black truffles can be found in our region from late autumn to January and has a brownish, sometimes even red-ish exterior. The taste is also pungent, but more refined than then Burgundy truffles and the smell can be compared to the very distinct smell of the kind of all truffles, the white truffle.
In the winter months we are finding huge amounts of this wonderfully aromatic truffle, which sadly rarely grows any larger than 1com in diameter. This small size is due to the specific climatic conditions of Transylvania, where the winters tend to be quite severe with temperatures of up to minus 25 degrees celsius… However, you can hardly find a better truffle for truffle butter or flavouring salt!!
Sadly this truffle cannot be found in Transylvania, but on the southern side of the Romanian Carpathians one can find this elusive, but utterly delicious and valuable species. Even though its not found locally, we sometimes use it on special occasions for an outrageously delicious truffle pasta!!
Transylvanian Truffles are becoming more and more renowned in the world for their excellent quality - and we are so fortunate to be able to find them in the forests around our restaurant fpr more than 9 months a year!
