The Local Truffle Fair in Sarrión

Hello everyone. Today’s blog is from the village of Sarrión, located in Spain’s Aragon region and known as the truffle capital of the country. There was a truffle fair taking place here and we wanted to walk around and see what was going on. Sarrión is a small village, about thirty kilometers from Teruel in Aragon, with a population of around 1200 people. We walked toward the center of the village.

Right at the entrance, there were small stalls selling bread and baked goods and we noticed a large number of cars around. Most likely, everyone had come for this event. The crowd was far from small. An interesting detail: today, the village has a population of just over 1100. In past centuries, however, as in many villages across Aragon, the population was much larger, at times reaching up to 2800 people in the wider area. In the 20th century with migration from rural areas to big cities, the population declined significantly. In the 21st century, thanks to truffles, the population has started to grow again.

This place is really considered the truffle capital of Spain. It is thought to be an ecologically very clean area and truffles grow exceptionally well here. It is even said that they are now almost able to compete with France in this field, which naturally has an impact on the truffle market.

Today, there is even a small tourist train that takes people around the village, running from one square to another. Honestly, in my view, this is exactly how a modern village should develop: it has found its own niche, in this case truffles and thanks to that, the population is growing and the infrastructure is being renewed. Newly paved sidewalks, freshly painted buildings… everything looks well cared for and very pleasant.

We went into one of the pavilions. Everyone was tasting food and shopping. Tickets were being sold there and you could buy truffle tapas. A tapa costs 3.5 euros, a drink 1 euro and a tapa with a drink comes to around 4.5 euros. Truffle dishes were everywhere. Concerts, exhibitions and award ceremonies are also held here. At the same time, there is a market selling local products, cheeses and various regional specialties. In another hall, they explain how truffles are grown. Even the sausages are truffle-flavored. It’s possible to taste almost everything. The real stars, of course, are the truffles themselves. They grow underground, close to tree roots. There are even competitions here involving truffle hunting with dogs. Specially trained dogs find the truffles. Truffle cultivation is quite a complex process, but every stage of it is explained here. They add truffles to almost everything, giving dishes a very distinctive aroma.

Sarrión really is the heart of Spanish truffles. There are truffle oils and many different truffle, based products, there is even truffle vodka and truffle liqueur. It sounds like a joke at first, but they really do exist. We also decided to explore the village itself a bit. There were stalls selling New Year’s decorations as we made our way toward the center. In another pavilion, equipment and fertilizers for people involved in truffle cultivation were on sale. In other words, the village has almost completely specialized in this field, which is one of the reasons behind its growing population.

We spotted a beautiful church in the distance and headed in that direction. There are also bars nearby where you can sit and have a drink. We reached the main square, where a large church, a Christmas tree and the town hall stand side by side. On the tree, there was a Belén, a Nativity scene. The church’s architecture is quite impressive. In Spain, each region has its own distinct architectural style. This is Aragon, more specifically the province of Teruel. The autonomous community of Aragon consists of three provinces: Zaragoza, Huesca and Teruel.

The temperature was 16 degrees, pleasantly mild. Although it does snow here in winter, today was said to be the warmest day in quite some time.

Old stone houses, wooden roofs, iron railings, heavy doors… all of them have been restored while preserving their historical character. Medieval gates are still standing. In the past, this was a small settlement surrounded by walls; because of wars, thick walls and gates were essential. Life mainly took place within these gates.

We returned to the street near the entrance. Since it was midday, people had retreated to their homes and the streets had become a bit quieter. In the evening, there were more events and award ceremonies again.

I don’t plan on going truffle hunting or buying truffles regularly, I lived without truffles before and I can live without them again. But coming here once to see it all and taste the flavors was definitely enjoyable. It was another new experience added to the list.