Black Gold

Do you remember the TV show - Beverly Hillbillies and their discover of oil in the Appalachian hills? Well, there is another form of Black Gold being found locally – Truffles. Not the chocolate kind that sells for $10 a pound but the fungal kind that sells for $700 to $2,000 a pound!

Truffles (www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Truffle) are one of the rarest and most expensive foods in the world and they are not native to North America. Mostly found in France and Italy, truffles are now being grown in the mountains and foothills of western North Carolina. They are grown on the roots of oak, chestnut, beech and hazel trees and never appear above the ground. For a tree to host the truffle fungi, you need to expose the nuts or acorns to the truffle spore and then plant the acorns and hope for the best. It then takes 10 years or more until the first truffles are ready for harvest.

Harvesting truffles is a labor intensive and interesting process. Because it never grows above ground you will need an animal with a great nose to root out this smelly fungi. In Europe they traditionally use pigs. The only drawback is that the pigs love to eat the fungi; so many people are training dogs for this task. You must be careful not to touch the truffle with your hands as it will cause it to rot quickly. Once found the truffle shelf life is only a few days and is best consumed quickly!

There are over 70 known varieties, from black to off-white and they are used for flavoring different foods. If you have ever had thinly sliced black truffle added to your Risotto or pasta dish, you will never forget the fragrance!

Asheville is again celebrating the Second Annual National Truffle Fest, (www.nationaltrufflefest.com) February 25th through 27th at the majestic Grand Bohemian Hotel, Asheville, NC. This gathering is to connect farmers to chefs and dog-trainers to foodies! At this decadent weekend event guests will indulge in samplings of the French Perigord truffle, rub shoulders with their favorite local chefs, take part in cooking demonstrations, wine tastings, and even a truffle-dog hunting course.

So the next time you are hiking and you find an acorn, just think of the possibilities that can spring from that small seed and the Black Gold growing in our mountains!