An underground fungus that commands astonishing prices. In Istria, truffles have long been more than a delicacy. They are an economic resource, a tourist attraction and part of the region’s identity. A journey from the Truffle Days in Livade to the forest where the coveted ingredient is found.
“Beetroot,” I say as I smell a freshly unearthed truffle.
The truffle hunter has a different association: “To me, they smell like money.”
It is hard to imagine a more fitting description of the relationship between people and truffles in Istria. For some, the underground fungus is a culinary treasure. For others, it provides a livelihood. And for an entire region, it has become a business that extends far beyond the search for truffles in the forest.
A Village in the Grip of Truffle Fever
Livade lies in northern Istria, not far from Motovun and the Mirna River. The small village is known as Istria’s truffle capital. In autumn, it becomes clear why.
During the Zigante Truffle Days, held on weekends from 3 October to 1 November in 2026, Livade became a meeting point for truffle enthusiasts from Croatia and abroad.
Fresh white and black truffles are offered at the market, alongside an extensive range of processed products. Truffle oil, truffle salt, spreads, sauces and other specialities fill the shelves. Walking through the shops, the same product categories appear again and again, with different packaging and presentations. Here, the truffle is not just a food product, but also a souvenir and a symbol of the region.
There are countless opportunities to taste it. Fuži, Istria’s traditional pasta, is served with truffles. There are ravioli, scrambled eggs and burgers. The fungus is the star ingredient, the source of flavour and a selling point all at once.
This variety makes truffles accessible to visitors who might never consider buying a whole white truffle. At the same time, the range of products demonstrates just how differently the ingredient can be marketed.
With processed specialities, it is therefore worth taking a closer look at the ingredients. Fresh truffles, preserved truffles and added flavourings do not necessarily create the same sensory experience. The proportion of actual truffle and the other ingredients used can only be assessed by examining each individual product.
The Truffle Days reveal two sides of the same development: they make a regional natural product accessible while also turning it into a tourist brand.
When the Dog Is Faster Than Its Owner
To understand what lies behind this brand, you have to leave Livade and head to the place where truffles actually grow.
In the forests around Motovun, experienced truffle hunters search for the underground fungi with specially trained dogs. The dogs detect their scent and indicate where a truffle might be hidden.
During our guided truffle hunt, it quickly becomes clear that the work is far less leisurely than romantic images of wandering through the forest might suggest.
As soon as the dog picks up the scent of a truffle, it starts digging enthusiastically. Its owner has to react quickly. Otherwise, the dog may eat the truffle before it can be recovered.
Truffle hunting is therefore a team effort. The dog locates the truffle, but the hunter needs to know where searching is permitted, how deep to dig and how to carefully extract the fungus. Afterwards, the hole must be filled in again.
This is more than a matter of good practice. Truffles grow in close association with the roots of certain trees. Unnecessary damage to the soil may also threaten future finds.
The dog provides the nose, the human brings the experience. And sometimes, it simply comes down to who is faster.
A Dog Worth €60,000?
The hunter illustrates just how valuable a good truffle dog can be by telling us about his own.
According to him, someone once offered €60,000 for the dog before it was neutered. An unneutered dog with an exceptional sense of smell can also be valuable for breeding, as its abilities may be passed on to its offspring. Neutering removes that breeding potential. Today, the hunter estimates his dog’s value at around €20,000.
These figures are not representative market prices. They do, however, illustrate the value an exceptionally successful truffle dog can hold for its owner.
The hunter also speaks quite openly about the financial opportunities that truffle hunting can provide. He says the income has allowed him to finance a house. Some of the truffles he finds are sold directly to traders, occasionally while he is still in the forest.
The costs, however, begin long before the first truffle is found. Alongside training and caring for the dog, professional hunting involves permits and other expenses. The hunter mentions approximately €300 for a licence.
What remains at the end depends on the quantity and quality of the finds, the season and the prices achieved. There is no guaranteed income.
White truffles in particular can command high prices. Yet their value is not determined by flavour alone. They are rare, difficult to find and cannot be supplied on demand. Their origins, market demand and the expectations surrounding an ingredient that has become a symbol of luxury also influence their price.
Between Flavour and Business
One person familiar with both sides of this development is Max Ivančić. He is responsible for the shops and gourmet restaurant at Zigante Tartufi. The company is one of the best-known names in Istria’s truffle industry and is closely associated with the Truffle Days in Livade.
For Ivančić, truffles have a significance that extends far beyond individual restaurants or traders.
He describes them as a source of recognition, income and prosperity that is enormously important to the entire region. Many people benefit from them.
This begins with the truffle hunters and extends through processing companies and restaurants to tourism. Restaurants, shops and events all benefit from Istria’s international association with truffles.
Yet economic success also brings contradictions.
Ivančić distinguishes between situations in which truffles are appreciated for their flavour and those in which their price is the main attraction. With such a distinctive product, the two can be difficult to separate.
“We prefer the flavour,” he says.
For him, the amount of truffle used does not determine whether a dish is successful. What matters is the passion with which it is prepared.
At Zigante, he says, the kitchen deliberately follows traditional family recipes rather than constantly searching for new flavour combinations. The dishes are intended to evoke a time when sharing a meal, family life and the warmth of home were at the heart of eating.
It is a notable perspective in an industry where truffles are frequently used as symbols of exclusivity.
Their distinctive aroma makes them an ingredient that does not necessarily require complicated preparations. Good pasta, eggs or a simply prepared dish can be enough to let their character shine.
A truffle does not need to prove how expensive it is. It needs to taste good.
The Price of Desire
High prices have become almost as much a part of the truffle’s story as its flavour.
But those prices have consequences. They can make this regional ingredient less accessible while simultaneously increasing its appeal to an international luxury audience.
Ivančić sees this as a challenge for the future.
He argues that the industry needs to remain grounded, keep prices reasonable and prevent them from rising endlessly. Equally important, he says, is educating customers about how truffles are found, stored and preserved.
It is an interesting position from a company whose business depends, in part, on the exceptional value associated with truffles.
The challenge lies in reconciling exclusivity with accessibility. On the one hand, a rare product deserves an appropriate price. On the other, its price should not become the sole reason people want to buy it.
This tension is particularly visible at a truffle market such as the one in Livade. Fresh truffle trading, gastronomic experiences and the sale of preserved specialities all exist side by side. They appeal to different customers and convey different ideas of what enjoying truffles means.
The value of a truffle therefore cannot be measured by price alone. Origin, freshness, processing and, ultimately, the actual flavour matter just as much.
Protecting the Origins of Istria’s White Truffle
An official geographical designation is intended to provide stronger protection for the regional origins of Istria’s truffles.
An application is underway to register the Istarski bijeli tartuf / Tartufo bianco d’Istria, the Istrian white truffle, as a Protected Designation of Origin (PDO).
In September 2026, Croatia’s Ministry of Agriculture approved the control plan intended to verify compliance with the product specification. This does not mean that registration at EU level has already been completed.
Such protection is intended to strengthen the connection between the product and its region of origin and to restrict the use of the protected name to products meeting defined requirements.
Ivančić generally welcomes the development. He believes it could strengthen the region and bring greater recognition to Istrian truffles.
At the same time, he cautions against treating the designation merely as another marketing tool. It should be approached with humility, with the quality of the product and responsible treatment of its origins taking priority.
After all, the significance of a protected designation extends beyond a label. It also raises questions about how a region manages a natural resource whose availability depends on functioning ecosystems.
What Remains of the Truffle
Despite all the enthusiasm surrounding their gastronomic and economic success, the future of Istria’s truffles ultimately depends on the forest.
Truffles cannot simply be produced at will. Their occurrence depends on particular ecological conditions, including suitable soils, tree species and climatic factors.
Ivančić therefore considers education an essential responsibility. Future generations, he believes, must learn to live with nature rather than viewing it merely as a source of commercially valuable products.
This is not exclusively about restrictions, but about understanding and responsibility.
The truffle hunter who carefully fills in the soil after recovering a truffle is part of that responsibility. The companies processing and marketing truffles carry it further. And the guests ordering a truffle dish in a restaurant or buying a jar of truffle spread at the market are part of the same system.
Ultimately, the question is how Istria can preserve the value of its truffles without defining that value solely through their price.
What also stays with me is the memory of the dog in the forest, digging determinedly for its prize while its owner tries to get there first.
To the truffle hunter, the fungus smells like money.
To me, it smells like beetroot.
Perhaps those two answers best capture what makes truffles so distinctive. They are both a natural product and a commodity, a culinary experience and a source of economic livelihood.
And their true value begins long before they reach the plate.
Max Ivančić provided his comments in a written interview. The truffle hunter’s statements about prices and earnings are based on his personal account.
