Blanca and Mariano, the perfect duo of black truffles in Teruel

Blanca is a 16-year-old Braca dog, and together with her owner, Mariano, a resident of Teruel, they form a perfect tandem that with a simple glance are capable of locating any black truffle, no matter how hidden it is among the carrascas of a plot in the municipality of Alfambra, 30 kilometers from the Teruel capital. Between mid-October and late February, Mariano Ibáñez goes out many days with Blanca to locate some black truffles buried next to the roots of the trees in his 6 hectares of oaks, called carrascas in Teruel. With special gloves and a machete to dig the soil, Mariano tells his dog “come on, Blanca, find it”, and the canine sneaks between the carrascas that Mariano planted 17 years ago to try to make a profit from a plot that now hides numerous specimens of truffle underground. A small bark, a glance before digging with her front paws, and Mariano already knows that Blanca has just located a new specimen. While digging, the dog gives a complicit look to her owner, who ...