Truffle in Buzet – the city of truffles
The forest surrounding Buzet is the home to a buried treasure. The truffle, this gastronomic giant, begins its grand feast in September. Spend Truffle Days in the company of giants.
In 1999, Buzet was named the City of Truffles inside the Truffles Zone that stretches across three administrative areas: the city of Buzet, the municipality of Oprtalj, the municipality of Motovun. In the centre of these three administrative areas lays the Motovun forest, a habitat to the Istrian white truffle (tuber magnatum), a pricy tuber whose value is measured in grams. It has a distinctive smell, not a very striking appearance, but its taste is exquisite. Apart from white truffles, the area is also rich with other varieties of black truffle ( Tuber Aestivum Vitt, Tuber ubicatum, Tuber melanu sporum).
About truffle
Truffle is underground tuberous fungus that is considered to be the height of gastronomy. It grows in the heart of Istria, in a humid and grey soil of the forests near Buzet with the Mirna River running through it. This hidden treasure can be located by means of specially trained dogs.
The area where truffles may be found is located southwest from Buzet and Lanišće all the way to the Raša River in the area of Labin and on the southern area to Pazin.
In the valley of the Mirna River one can find the internationally much appreciated white truffles that mature in early fall, as well as black truffles which can be found both in winter and in summer.
Truffle Weekend
As part of the “Truffles Days 2002”, the tourist board of the city of Buzet organised for the first time a fair entitled Truffles Weekend. The event takes place on the first weekend of November.
The purpose of the event is to promote, taste and sell truffles as a unique gastronomic product (honey, cheese, olive oil, wine, brandies (rakija), mushrooms, cookies,…), and also to promote weekend tourism and Buzet itself as the city of truffles. One of the important goals achieved through such events is of course the prolonging of the tourist season.
The participants at the fair that takes place in a large tent (except for the first year when the fair was organised on the premises of the hotel Fontana in Buzet) in the very centre of the city of Buzet, are the companies registered to sell truffles, as well as numerous producers of autochthonous products of the Buzet area, and the neighbouring places: Buje, Kašteliri, Brtonigla and Grožnjan. In addition to the gastronomic offer, there is a cultural entertainment programme organised for the occasion where people can listen to the sound of triestina, bajs and vijulina.
Giant omelette with truffles
Every year, on the second weekend of September, just before the religious holiday of Saint Maria Mala (the day of the ctiy of Buzet – the traditional event Subotina), a giant fritada with truffles (over 2000 eggs and 10 kg of truffles is used) is prepared down at the Fontana Square in a frying pan that weighs about 1000 kg and has a diameter of 2.5 m. This marks the beginning of the Truffles Days inside the Truffle Zone.
Namely, the white truffle season lasts from September till January which is the perfect time to treat you palate to the taste of white truffles for the first time. During the whole year black truffles are collected depending on their sort.