Truffle Trees...Growing Your Own Black Truffles
OK...who doesn't like the taste of truffles? No one that I know. Who can afford to buy truffles? No one that I know, including me. Sooooo...I'm going to try growing my own. I know...it's a long shot, but I'm going to give it a try.
Truffles are a fungus that grows on the roots of certain kinds of trees. They're mostly grown in southern European countries s/a France and Italy. They are dug out of the ground, near the base of the tree and the growers usually have to use a special dog to sniff them out. You can now buy trees that have been inoculated with the truffle fungus, which you then plant, wait 4-5 years and hopefully, have some truffles to unearth. It's been recently found that truffles can be grown successfully in my area. Yeah!!! The fungus grows on several different types of trees. Hazelnut trees are one type, but they're shorter lived and produce less. Holly oaks are the perfect species for my area, so I'm going with those.
So, what can you do with truffles? There's truffle oil, but I'm looking forward to shaving them fresh on risotto, pasta etc. Truffled eggs are pretty good too. I'm looking for more recipe ideas. My trees arrive this week, so I need to get my collection of recipes started now.
~ C