San Miniato: Tuscany’s truffle town
If you’re driving from Pisa to Florence (or vice versa) and looking for a pit stop in between, may I interest you in the lovely hilltop town of San Miniato?
Because, truffles.
San Miniato is the center of Tuscany’s truffle-producing belt, an area responsible for a whopping 25% of all of Italy’s truffles. That alone should tell you this little town shouldn’t be missed.
Marlon and I stopped here for lunch on our way to K and J’s Tuscan wedding; because we liked it so much, we dropped by again on our way back to Pisa airport. We had truffle everything. I’m not talking about that nasty chemical impostor, truffle oil, either. In San Miniato, generous shavings of the town’s signature product make even the simplest lunch—from fried eggs to a parmesan-and-olive-oil pasta—a sublime stopover.
You can also buy San Miniato’s precious white truffles to take home. At 90 Euro cents per gram, or about €100-135 per piece, white truffles are a bargain right here at the source. But beware: truffles must be used up within four days from the date of purchase. That’s not a whole lot of time!
By the way, San Miniato hosts a white truffle fair during the last three weekends of November. Too bad we were a few months too early.
Black truffles are a more affordable alternative. But they also have the same use-by time frame as white truffles.
We decided to go for bottled truffle products, such as truffle oil, salt, butter, honey, salsa and more. Although they have a longer shelf life, they must be consumed within 10 days of opening (even with refrigeration). It makes more sense to buy multiple smaller jars instead of one or two big ones, so that’s just what we did.
Once we got our truffle fix, it was time to turn our attention to the rest of San Miniato. Yep, there’s more to this town than just truffles.
There’s gelato: specifically, pure Nutella in gelato form. I don’t know what kind of Italian alchemy produced this transmogrification, but it’s in San Miniato.
In fact, it was so deeply, richly Nutella-y that I, who subsisted on Nutella for the entire third trimester of my pregnancy (I swear that Tala is made of 25% Nutella), could not finish one whole scoop. *hangs head* I’m sorry, I failed you!
Standing on top of a hill, San Miniato also offers beautiful Tuscan vistas, such as this.
For families traveling with a stroller, a pleasant surprise: baby-friendly ramps make it easier to explore this hilly town. Thank goodness!
We saw two during our lunch stopover. So pretty and chic, I just want to get married all over again.
Our souvenirs from San Miniato—truffle butter, salt and salsa—are safely tucked away in the pantry. Once we break them open, we have to use them up within 10 days, so I’m thinking a truffle dinner party is in order. Got any good truffle recipes I should try?
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