Hunt for caviar of truffles

Harvest time for Alba’s white culinary treasure as body saves fungus by planting new trees.

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Deep in a thick forest in Italy's northwestern Piedmont region, the hunt is on for the white Alba truffle, with excited dogs zigzagging and digging into the wet earth.

But the culinary treasure is becoming increasingly rare, undermined by climate change.

"Go find it! Where is it?" Carlo Marenda, a part-time truffle hunter, calls out to Gigi and Buk, seven-month- and 13-year-old crosses between the Spinone Italiano and Lagotto Romagnolo breeds, prized for their keen sense of smell.

Autumn leaves crunch under the weight of boots sinking into muddy soil. Below a picturesque hillside vineyard not far from Alba, trails wind along the Rio della Fava, crossing damp ground ideal for growing truffles.