Alba Perez belongs to the third generation of his family, which grows about 50 hectares. truffles on the rolling hills between Mora de Rubielos and Sarrion. Tuber Aestivums, a white summer truffle, is harvested from May to July, and the more popular black truffle - Tuber Melanosporums - from November to March.
The Alba family is one of the pioneers of truffle tourism, which is just beginning to develop. Until now, tourists quite rarely went to the hilly area in the south of Aragon. Now, more and more restaurants are offering truffle menus at harvest time. On Saturdays, Sarrion has a truffle market.
In fact, this is crazy business because truffles cannot be grown in the true sense of the word, says Julio Perales, chairman of the regional association of truffle producers.
But their cultivation can be helped. Direct speech: “For this we infect oak seedlings with stone spores in greenhouses and plant them later. Ten years later, it turns out that it worked, ”he says.
Truffle cultivation is a pretty risky business. But it seems that the methodology of local residents is working. A gourmet mushroom is today the economic engine of a remote province. From November to March, about 40 tons of black truffle are harvested here.
Direct speech: “Without this source of income, more people would have left our already deserted region. Truffles let us stay, says Julio. And perhaps some will soon return as soon as culinary tourism is gaining momentum. ”
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