ABOUT US
We are authentic black truffle producers (Tuber melanosporum), deemed the black diamond of the kitchen.
We work daily so that our truffles get to their destination as they should: as fresh as possible, with all their aroma and flavour.
But, what is a truffle?
It is an edible mushroom that grows underground. There are many varieties in this range of fungi and all of them are called truffles. We only grow the variety tuber melanosporum, that offers us an aroma and taste that is very highly appreciated in gastronomy. These characteristics make the so-called black truffle one of the most highly prized delicacies in the kitchen.
How is it cultivated?
Truffles can’t live on their own, they need to coexist with another plant. This association between fungi and vegetation is known as symbiosis. Both are benefited from this union: the fungi obtains chlorophyll, that it can’t produce on its own and the plant that it joins forces with, obtains a higher quantity of nutrients from the ground by means of the fungi. But not all trees are able to join forces with the truffle, holm oaks, oaks, kermes oaks and hazelnut trees; they are the most widely used varieties.
How is it cultivated?
Truffles can’t live on their own, they need to coexist with another plant. This association between fungi and vegetation is known as symbiosis. Both are benefited from this union: the fungi obtains chlorophyll, that it can’t produce on its own and the plant that it joins forces with, obtains a higher quantity of nutrients from the ground by means of the fungi. But not all trees are able to join forces with the truffle, holm oaks, oaks, kermes oaks and hazelnut trees; they are the most widely used varieties.
Then, How are they capable of living side by side?
To be able to have a symbiosis union as we mentioned before, the union of these two organisms is carried out by micorrizas, which isn’t anything other than the tree’s roots and the fungi’s roots joining. Thus, they will live together taking mutual benefit of the situation.
When this fungus matures, over the winter months, its fruits are called truffles. These truffles are a dark colour and they reach all their potential aroma and taste. It’s just then when they are harvested, by trained dogs who are capable of detecting them by their smell. Once they are located, we dig them out of the soil manually, one by one.
Truffle growing therefore requires constant work and dedication. We can’t go any faster than nature allows us to, we must be patient in order to obtain a top quality product.
We have our own greenhouses where we take care of every single one of our micorriza trees that will be replanted into our fields.
Although the truffle harvest is only carried out over the winter months (from December to March), there’s work to be done throughout the year:
CONSTANT WORK
Ploughing, eradicating our natural competition from wild weeds or trimming are all fundamental tasks when it comes to reaping healthy crops.
NEW MICORRIZA PLANTS
We obtain them from our own greenhouses. We nurture them for a year or two in greenhouses and then we replant them into our fields.
THE TRUFFLE HARVEST
Each truffle matures at its own pace and that’s why we go out with our trained dogs, that detect truffles, that are in their optimum conditions, with their sense of smell.
Cleaning, classifying and shipping truffles to our customers swiftly, are daily tasks over the harvesting season.
Truffles are perishable food that must be kept at a low temperature between 1º and 4ºC. Their aroma loses intensity on a daily basis, so we have to be quick and efficient when transporting and processing them.
Our objective is that our customers can enjoy a product at its maximum freshness and appreciate our truffles’ in all their splendour.
THE TRUFFICULTURE ISN’T JUST A GOURMET PRODUCT, FOR US IT’S MUCH MORE:
It helps us to preserve rich vegetation in the area.
It achieves new shots which spread and act as natural firewalls.
It keeps the ground healthy and rich in nutrients.
Our fields are located in Sarrión and other towns in the Gúdar-Javalambre region, located in the South of Teruel, in one of the most worldwide renowned and important black truffle (Tuber melanosporum) production areas.
The very beginning of this family tradition dates back to our paternal grandfather. He was the first man, alongside a few others from the area, to learn to harvest wild truffles and he passed all this knowledge down to his children. Our family worked collecting wild truffles in the Javalambre mountain ranges, Albarracín and in the East area of Cuenca.
Over 30 years ago our family started to work on creating our own black truffle crop, from micorriza plants, all out of our own handy work. The initial stages were tough and very few people had faith in them. When we started growing truffles, the procedure was still a bit unknown and something like planting holm oaks instead of cereal, was regarded as something crazy. Even then, we decided to opt for our passion and for what we had learnt from our grandfather. It was a long term investment, that required a lot of effort, perseverance, where uncertainty and therefore risks were high.
Fortunately our hard work paid off and now we boast experience and a plantation that keeps growing and producing a prime quality product.
Coming together made obtaining a product that we are all very proud of, possible.
