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WEDNESDAY EDITION
Siuslaw News
Coast Life
❘ MARCH 8, 2017 ❘
SECTION B
SENIOR NEWS
CALENDAR
INSIDE — 5B
CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK
The trouble with (Oregon) truffles
PHOTO BY ERIC LYON
Oregon has prime pickings for several types of truffles — if hunters know
where to look. Different varieties are available throughout the year, with both
Oregon white and black truffle season ending this month.
A
Standard Poodle, a
Bloodhound and a
Chihuahua walk into a
barn — no, this is not the begin-
ning of a bad joke — accompanied
by several Lagotto Romagnolos and
other assorted breeds. The 20 dogs
and their owners were gathered at
a farm outside of Eugene on a
chilly Saturday in January to test
their newly-acquired truffle sniffing
skills.
They were finishing up a two-day
training session, part of a weekend event
called The Oregon Truffle Festival, to
see how well they could find the elusive
and much prized Oregon white truffle
(tuber oregonense).
As early as 1977, renowned Oregon
chef James Beard proclaimed Oregon
white and black truffles to be the epi-
curean equal to their exotic and expen-
sive European counterparts that sell for
up to $3,500 per pound.
But 30 years later, Oregon truffles,
derided for their lack of aroma and com-
plexity, sell for much less.
Snobbery aside, the lack of acceptance
is due in part to a popular Oregon
method of harvesting that uses rakes to
uncover the shallow truffles.
Unlike European truffle harvesters,
who primarily use specially trained
dogs, like the Lagotto Romagnolo, to
locate only prime, ripe truffles, most
Oregon truffle harvesters use rakes that
scratch up ripe and unripe truffles indis-
criminately.
Only ripe truffles give off the distinc-
tive heady aroma for which connois-
seurs and chefs are willing to pay top
dollar. Unripe truffles may never mature
once collected and is the reason for the
Oregon truffles’ lack of approval in the
international world of truffles.
Ripe truffles are only aromatic when
mature and then for only five to 10
days, before degrading.
The aroma is a basic component in
truffle reproduction. Spoors from male
and female truffles must mingle to prop-
agate. Squirrels and other rodents
attracted to the scent dig up and eat both
male and female truffles and then scatter
the blended spoors in their scat.
The truffle is the fruit of a subter-
ranean Ascomycete fungus of the genus
Tuber, that has a symbiotic relationship
with one of several varieties of trees.
The fungus helps draw water to the
B Y J ACK D AVIS
Siuslaw News
tree’s root system, while the tree pro-
vides the shade the fungus needs to sur-
vive.
In the Pacific Northwest, the fungus is
found exclusively around the base of
younger Douglas fir trees in elevations
usually below 1,500 feet.
According to Charles LeFevre, an
OSU-trained mycologist and a founder
of the Oregon Truffle Festival, one of
the densest populations of edible truffles
in the world is located in the Cascade
Range foothills between the Willamette
Valley and the Pacific Ocean.
Florence has both white and black
Oregon truffles buried beneath immature
stands of Douglas fir trees in surround-
ing foothills.
The aromas of Oregon black and
white truffles are as distinctively differ-
ent as chocolate and vanilla. The Oregon
white truffle has a pungent, musky,
earthy, umami odor. The Oregon black
truffle (leucangia carthusiana) smells
like fresh cut pineapple. Both become
instantly unforgettable.
According to Tennessee truffle dog
trainer and Lagotto Romagnolo breeder
Jim Sanford, Europeans first used
female pigs to hunt truffles because the
scent of a ripe truffle exactly matched
the pheromone characteristics of a male
pig in rut.
“The truffle hunters would tie a stout
rope around the pig’s neck and then
have to tug with all their might and
reach down and grab the truffle before
the 400-pound sow could eat it,”
Sanford said. “They said you could
always tell a truffle hunter because he
was missing several fingers.”
Dogs, on the other hand, don’t partic-
ularly care for the taste of truffles, don’t
weigh 400 pounds and aren’t sexually
aroused by the scent of a ripe truffle.
Very few truffle hunters use pigs any-
more.
Prime Oregon white truffles can sell
for as much as $400 per pound and
Oregon black truffles go for a bit less.
Both are still far below the four-figure
price top quality European truffles com-
mand.
LeFevre, who also owns a truffle cul-
tivation and inoculation company called
New World Trufferies, hopes that
through tree inoculation, proper truffle
dog harvesting techniques and educa-
tion, the Oregon truffle industry may
JACK DAVIS/SIUSLAW NEWS
The Pacific Northwest creates a
prime climate for truffles. Oregon
black truffles are frequently found
along the Oregon coast in stands of
immature Douglas fir trees. Using
trained dogs is the best way to find
these culinary gems. Permits are
required, and hunters should make
sure they are not harvesting on pri-
vate or protected land.
one day rival that of Europe — and pos-
sibly even equal Oregon’s burgeoning
wine industry.
Oregon is home to four commercially
harvestable truffles, the Oregon white
truffle, the Oregon black truffle, the
Oregon brown truffle and the white
spring truffle.
Oregon’s white truffle season is
October through March. Black truffle
season is December through March. The
recently discovered Oregon brown truf-
fle (Kalapuya brunnea) season is
October through March and the white
spring truffle season is May through
July. All seasons are weather dependent.
One of the few other commercially
harvestable truffles in North America is
the Pecan truffle, found in the southeast-
ern U.S.
The Oregon coast is reported to have a
higher concentration of black truffles
than are found in the Willamette Valley.
The Oregon truffle industry may also
be helping the Oregon and Lane County
tourist business. Fodor’s Travel has
identified five trips for adventurous truf-
fle lovers: two in Italy, one in Croatia,
one in France and one in Eugene.
Oregon white truffles are shaved onto
pasta, creamy soups and other savory
dishes that are not overly spicy. The
pungent aroma is released when the truf-
fle comes in contact with warm or hot
food. The truffle meat actually has very
little flavor.
Oregon black truffles go well with
sweet and fruity dishes. as well as ice
cream, soft cheeses and chicken.
Fresh truffles do not freeze well and
are difficult to preserve. But the intrigu-
ing fresh truffle olfactory experience
may be retained longer by infusing the
PHOTO COURTESY OF OREGONBLACKTRUFFLES.COM
truffles’ essence into olive oil or butter
that can then be stored in the refrigerator
or frozen.
Truffle oil and or truffle butter may be
enjoyed on baked potatoes, rice, risotto,
and even popcorn. Truffle oil or butter
should not be used in cooking, but as a
finishing touch or added just before
serving.
At the end of the second day, the
Lagotto Romagnolos did their owners
proud, especially the two puppies that
were only five months old. But the dog
with the most truffles after the two-and-
a-half-hour field exercise was a Golden
Retriever who found 50 Oregon white
truffles.
The Chihuahua and the Poodle did
OK. But the Bloodhound didn’t fine a
single truffle.
Sanford, who taught the two-day
exercise said, “I really don’t train the
dogs. I train the owners.”
At least one local eatery, Homegrown
Public House and Wildcrafters Deli,
offers seasonal truffle recipes. They also
hold fieldtrips on foraging for local wild
edibles.
For more information, call 541-997-
5916.