Huge White Truffles Seen Today in Alba, Italy

These are some of the biggest White Truffles of Alba I have ever seen. They were on sale in the main street in Alba.

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A truffle is the fruiting body of a subterranean Ascomycete fungus, predominantly one of the many species of the genus Tuber. Some of the truffle species are highly prized as food. French gourmet Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin called truffles "the diamond of the kitchen". 

Edible truffles are held in high esteem in French, Georgian, Greek, Italian, Middle Eastern and Spanish cooking, as well as in international haute cuisine. Truffles are ectomycorrhizal fungi and are therefore usually found in close association with the roots of trees. Spore dispersal is accomplished through fungivores, animals that eat fungi.

The mycelia of truffles form symbiotic, mycorrhizal relationships with the roots of several tree species including beech, poplar, oak, birch, hornbeam, hazel, and pine. They prefer argillaceous or calcareous soils that are well drained and neutral or alkaline. Truffles fruit throughout the year, depending on the species and can be found buried between the leaf litter and the soil.

White truffle

The "white truffle" or "trifola d'Alba Madonna" (Tuber magnatum) is found mainly in the Langhe and Montferrat areas[9] of the Piedmont region in northern Italy and, most famously, in the countryside around the cities of Alba and Asti; in Italy it can also be found in Molise, Abruzzo, and in the hills around San Miniato, in Tuscany. It is also found on the Istria peninsula, in Croatia in the Motovun forest along the Mirna river, and in Slovenia along the Dragonja and Rizana river, as well as in the Drome area in France. Growing symbiotically with oak, hazel, poplar and beech and fruiting in autumn, they can reach 12 cm (5 in) diameter and 500 g, though are usually much smaller. The flesh is pale cream or brown with white marbling. Italian white truffles are very highly esteemed (illustration, left) and are the most valuable on the market: The white truffle market in Alba is busiest in the months of October and November when the Fiera del Tartufo (truffle fair) takes place. In 2001, the Tuber magnatum truffles sold for between $1000–$2200 per pound ($2000–$4500 per kg); as of December 2009 they were being sold at $14,203.50 per kilogram.