BURIED TREASURES

Since ancient times, this fungus was known for its numerous health benefits , and was attributed with healing properties and even magical and aphrodisiac powers. It was harvested and used in rituals, as it was always shrouded in mystery and secrecy.

In 1600 BC, with the Amorite civilization, a people made up of nomadic tribes, the following was described by Chiera in 1934: “The Martu do not know grain… The Martu know neither house nor city, the boorish ones of the high steppe… The Martu who dig up truffles …they do not bend down to cultivate the land, they eat raw meat, they have no home throughout their lives, they are not buried after their death… The Martu are a plundering people with the instincts of wild beasts.” Thus, this delicacy was already known in historical times.

Truffles are also mentioned in the Bible , and their consumption is even cited in Ancient Egypt , where emperors enjoyed this delicacy in times immemorial, either coated in fat or cooked. They found them near the Aegean Sea and called them " daughters of lightning ," perhaps because abundant summer storms foretold a bountiful harvest of this fungus.

Regarding the Middle Ages, there are few references, since the Church, considering this food a dangerous and even diabolical product due to its aphrodisiac properties, prohibited its use, hence there is no reference to it in the cookbooks of the time.

It was during the Renaissance that truffle consumption increased, and with it, the number of written references to it. At this time, it began to be distinguished from other foods and considered a gourmet product used by the wealthiest classes.

At the beginning of the 20th century, this fungus began to be harvested more systematically, initially wild truffles. By the mid-century, plots of land were being cultivated to create dedicated harvesting areas. Since then, this practice has generated economic activity that has brought greater stability to certain areas of Teruel. Currently, truffles are considered an important economic driver in certain rural areas of Teruel, Soria, and parts of the Maestrazgo region .

Therefore, there are still buried treasures that are hard to find, diamonds to discover, earth to turn over, and new stories to tell.