They look like a piece of old fruit found beneath the sofa and smell like a strange combination of pine needles and barnyard, yet the truffle is one of the culinary world's most expensive and legendary foods. Some truffle varieties can command a price as high as $2,000 per pound wholesale. What many Oregonians don't know is that this culinary buried treasure is right under our noses.
Jim Wells of Oregon Wild Edibles! says the state has two varieties of white and one variety of black truffles. All grow west of the Cascades - from British Columbia to Northern California - near the roots of Douglas firs. Wells is one of a handful of Oregon truffle suppliers. While Oregon's production is still in its infancy compared to European countries, truffles from the Pacific Northwest are getting a lot of attention, including a story in the upcoming March issue of Bon Appétit. An Oregon chef, the late James Beard, even claimed that, if harvested correctly, Oregon truffles could easily go nose to nose with their European counterparts. With a market price of about $100 per pound, that's quite a bargain.
You can try truffles for yourself at the Oregon Truffle Festival beginning on Friday and running through Sunday. Samples will be available at the Oregon Truffle Marketplace from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday at the Downtown Athletic Club. The entry cost is $15.
The humble truffle
For such an aristocrat, truffles have rather lowly beginnings. As underground versions of mushrooms, truffles attract squirrels and other animals with their intense odor. The animals eat the truffles, then distribute their spores in an, um, not so refined way.
If you can get past the truffle's method of survival, the big picture is a beautiful illustration of nature's design. Trees feed truffles, which feed the squirrels. Squirrels disperse the truffle spores, which make more truffles, which are necessary for trees to grow. All parts are dependent upon each other.
The result for humans is an extraordinary treat. The Oregon white truffle, as described by the North American Truffling Society, is "a strange mix of pineapple, port, mushrooms, rich soil and chocolate." The Oregon black truffle is less common than the white.
Discovered in the 19th century, Oregon truffles haven't always had a stellar reputation in the culinary world. This is because of ineffective harvesting methods rather than inferior truffles, argues Charles Lefevre, president of the North American Truffling Society and owner of New World Truffiere, which sells trees covered in European truffle spores to American farmers.
Lefevre says that in Europe, truffles are hunted by pigs or dogs who find the odorous fungi by sniffing along the forest floor. Because a truffle emits its special eau de truffle only when ripe, truffle pigs or dogs dig up only perfectly ripe truffles.
There aren't many truffle pigs or dogs in the United States, perhaps only three nationwide. Oregon truffles are hunted by humans, whose noses cannot detect the perfectly ripe truffle hidden underground. Foragers in the United States use a rake and rely on a lot of luck. Often these truffles are not ripe as they should be. Sold anyway to chefs or other "foodies," the unripe Oregon truffle fails to impress. That's a shame, Lefevre says.
Lucky for us, the quality of Oregon truffles is only improving, says Rocky Maselli, chef at Marché Restaurant in Eugene. "Within the last five years," he says, "the quality has improved dramatically. Foragers are educating themselves to harvest something that's really quite extraordinary."
Treat truffles with respect
So, if you're lucky enough to find a truffle, how do you know you're getting a quality product? If a truffle is a light color inside, and doesn't have a strong smell, leave it for a few days to ripen, much like an avocado. "A good truffle is never subtle," Lefevre says. "The taste should fill your sinuses and you should be able to taste it for a long time afterward."
One must pay dearly for such an experience. Even Oregon truffles do not come cheap. It's a good thing that less than an ounce is sometimes all that's needed to make a dish.
Once you have your truffles, you'll want to treat them with respect. The traditional European method for storing truffles is to hide them in a container of uncooked rice, like a carefully packed piece of crystal among styrofoam peanuts. Wells recommends keeping the truffles refrigerated in a sealed plastic bag, with paper towels wrapped around the truffles. Check the bag daily for "rotters," as you would check a box of fruit.
If you're ready to give Oregon truffles a taste, they are available locally from Jim Wells at oregonwildedibles .com. Several Eugene restaurants, including Chef's Kitchen and Marché, serve truffle dishes during the season. The three varieties of Oregon truffles ripen at different times from mid-December through June.
Buy them when you see them and relish the experience. And most importantly, don't be intimidated by their gourmet reputation. What could be more noble and more humble than a truffle?
