If white mushrooms are the Chevrolets of fungi, then truffles products must be considered the Cadillacs! Truffles are an expensive delicacy usually grown and harvested in the forests of France.

But Jason Shoultz met one truffle lover who discovered they also do well in the hills of North Carolina. And now, he’s convincing other farmers to give up their tractors and grow a new crop –underground.

Wander off the interstate into rural North Carolina, and you might discover Franklan Garland and his dog Ginger truffle hunting! You can’t see the truffles but Garland is certain there is a fungus among us.

"The fungus grows on the roots of the trees; the actual fungus. It’s a symbiotic relationship, so it is mutually beneficial," says Garland, owner of Garland Gourmet Truffles.

Wait a minute, you say, I’ve eaten truffles many times. They didn’t come from the ground, and sure didn’t taste like a fungus. You are right. Those were chocolate truffles. But if Franklin Garland has his way, the black round Tuber Melanosporum fungus is the truffle that we will come to know and love instead.

"Truffles are good anytime," according to Garland, including breakfast lunch or dinner.

To prove it, Franklin invited America’s Heartland reporter Jason Shoultz to try a truffle omelet! You won’t find them on the breakfast menu at your local greasy spoon. Black Perigord Truffles are popular but expensive dishes at upscale restaurants.

Garland says, "There are a small percentage of people who don’t like them. I can describe what people who don’t like them think they taste like. They think they taste like dirty gym socks."

This "fun guy" often invites guests to his kitchen to sample fungi cuisine. He says the omelet is the perfect partner for the black truffle’s distinct earthy and nutty flavor.

The origin of the truffle can be traced back to France. As far back as the 15th century pigs were used to sniff them out from the roots of trees in the forests. Today they are grown using trees inoculated with fungus spores. But until recently the only place they would grow was Europe. In 1979 Garland bought inoculated trees from France, planted an orchard on his North Carolina property and waited.

"And even then it was not until 1992 that I had my first truffle in my hand," says Garland. "So we are talking close to 12 years from the time I planted to the time I actually harvested truffles."

Garland’s discovery, that truffles could grow in the North Carolina soil, was ground breaking in the world of truffles. Now he supplies his truffles to chefs at upscale restaurants around the country and just down the road.

Chef Sam Poley from nearby Starlu Restaurant says, "as a flavor, you can’t get anything that’s even remotely close to it."

Garland shares truffles with Chef Sam Poley to create interesting dishes at his restaurant in Durham, North Carolina. They are too expensive to be a regular menu item. But Poley says the fungus is perfect for experimenting: Like truffle popcorn or even truffle martinis!

Franklin Garland and his wife Betty’s latest venture is selling specially treated trees for truffle-growing. And they are getting interest from all over North Carolina. Seems lots of folks want to get into the truffle-growing business.

Garland knows why: money. "The lowest they have been in the last five years in $500 a pound. And they got up to $1,600 and in some cases $2,000 a pound."

In 1999 Charles Bradley invested $5,000 to plant 500 of Garland’s treated hazelnut trees. Anytime now truffles should start growing in the roots. When we stopped by the farm, Ginger was sniffing for underground truffles like the pigs used to do.

Bradley says, "It’s sight unseen. You have to have a little faith to know what’s going on under the ground."

Some quick math tells you why Charles Bradley is taking the risk. A good year could produce 100 pounds of truffles an acre. He’s got two acres of trees. Let’s say he gets $1,000 a pound. That would total $200,000 for that good year. For now, hazelnuts are growing on the branches of these inoculated trees but no truffles underground yet. But these guys are confident that they will.

Additional information:
Hungry for a black truffle? Be careful. You might be biting into a fake! The Chinese Truffle has the look of the French truffle but not the taste. In fact, for generations the Chinese fed the truffles to their pigs. But over the past several years, dodgy truffle dealers have been passing off the Chinese truffle as the French Perigord truffle!

GARLAND GOURMET TRUFFLES
3020 Ode Turner Road
Hillsborough, NC 27278
Phone: 919.732-3041
Fax: 919.732.6037
Email: truffles@garlandtruffles.com
Website: http://www.garlandtruffles.com