Experience Decadent Truffles in the Smokies
North Carolina is a hot spot in the truffle industry. In 1979, Franklin and Betty Garland pioneered truffle growing in North America, leading to the first commercially-grown truffles in the United States in 1992. Since then, they have shared their expertise and experience with chefs, farmers and researchers.
In 2009, the Garlands donated 80 trees to a program at North Carolina State University, spearheaded by Dr. Jeanine Davis, extension specialist in horticulture science. The Mountain Research Station in Waynesville, North Carolina, allowed Davis and her team to plant truffle orchards there.
Truffles have intrigued and enchanted folks since antiquity. Throughout history, they appear and disappear in stories and chronicles. While considered a delicacy, their rarity and elusive nature created cautions for some. In fact, truffles were banned during the Middle Ages because of their exotic aroma.
Truffles are a type of fungus that grows on the roots of trees like oak and beech, drawing nutrients from the tree and developing a delicious, musky flavor. Unlike other vegetation planted in a field, truffles are obscure because of their placement in the tree root and their need for very specific types of soil and climates.
The Périgord black truffle is indigenous to Southern Europe and is a culinary delicacy with many Europeans, especially the French.
In their natural environment in Southern Europe, black Périgord truffles thrive in a calcium-rich soil with a very high soil pH, much different than the soil of Western North Carolina, so researchers have had to take many measures to protect and nurture the orchards.
In November of 2017, the team at the Mountain Research Station found their very first Périgord truffle. They were thrilled, to say the least. After planting the first orchard in 2010 and the second in 2013, it was a long-time coming and well worth the wait.
What did they do with their first truffle? They divvied it among the folks who’d worked on the project and relished in its glorious flavor.
The Asheville Truffle Experience
In Madison County, North Carolina, Susi Gott Séguret is ingrained in the world of Périgord truffles. She’s been intimately involved with food her entire life. Originally from Appalachia, she spent 20 years in France honing her culinary skills. Séguret is a musician, author and renown chef, recently publishing the unique cookbook Appalachian Appetite.
Among her many accolades, Séguret is director of the Asheville Truffle Experience held each year in Asheville, North Carolina. Attendees learn about the mystery of the ultra-prized truffle, attend tastings and wine-paired dinners, participate in a hands-on culinary lesson and learn about the rise of truffle cultivation in the U.S. To learn more about this event, visit ashevilletruffle.com.