French truffles are now farmed in Oregon, and they command the same price as imports. In 2007 Zandra and James Walton started their truffle business with 400 trees. “They were like sticks with roots that were about as long as the trees,” says James. But the miniature seedlings held the potential to sprout one of the most expensive foods on earth.
Truffle season runs from December through March, and as of February, the Waltons have pulled 20 pounds of winter black truffles out of the ground. They sell their crop, at roughly $800 per pound, exclusively to Gabriel Rucker’s restaurants: Le Pigeon, Canard, and Canard Oregon City, just down the road from their farm.
For years, they were worried their trees might never produce truffles. This season is by far their most successful, and it’s only the third year they’ve been able to grow any truffles at all. The Waltons grow Périgord truffles (Tuber melanosporum). Its aroma is often related to kalamata olives, with notes of alcohol and a pleasant muskiness. Truffles are the ‘fruiting body’ of a fungus, similar to mushrooms, and they sprout underground from young tree roots.
Source: pdxmonthly.com