Truffles
The woods of the western Pacific Northwest make an excellent habitat for truffles. European truffles are sought-after and expensive, yet we have flavorful native truffle species here already.
Truffles are hypogeous mushrooms, meaning they form underground, and ectomycorrhizal, meaning they grow in a symbiotic relationship with certain tree species.
The Pacific Northwest has a black truffle, two white truffles, and a brown truffle, each available at different times of the year, that are harvested for culinary purposes. We do have additional species in our area, but they are either too small or too infrequent to be of value.
Truffles are related to morel mushrooms; both families of mushrooms are in the order Pezizales. True tubers are in the family Tuberaceae. The Oregon brown truffle and the Oregon black truffle, however, are in the Morchellaceae family and more closely related to morels.
Harvesting truffles
Two methods are commonly used to harvest truffles: raking the forest floor, or using trained dogs to sniff them out. The raking method is more destructive, as it can damage tree roots and fungal growth. If using a rake, it’s important to minimize soil disturbance and replace any topsoil and decomposing forest litter that is removed during raking to protect the organisms present there and enable truffles to continue to propagate.
A better method is to use an dog to hunt for truffles. In Europe, truffles were traditionally found using female pigs, but scent-trained dogs are more common now. They’re easier to manage and unlike pigs, they don’t want to eat the truffles they find. Since only mature truffles that have developed their aroma are worth harvesting, their ability to detect and pinpoint mature truffles minimizes any damage caused by harvesting and leaves unripe truffles in the ground to mature.
Species
Truffles
Native species
Winter white truffles (Tuber oregonense)
Spring white truffles (Tuber gibbosum)
black truffle (Leucangium carthusianum)
brown truffle (Kalapuya brunnea)
Cultivated species
Périgord black truffles (Tuber melanosporum)
Burgundy black truffles (Tuber aestivum)
Italian bianchetto truffles (Tuber borchii)
Native species
Our four commercially-harvested truffle species are found throughout the Northwest Coast region, from Northern California up to British Columbia, grow in association with Douglas fir trees.
As with other wild mushrooms, seasons vary year-to-year depending on the weather.
Winter white truffles (Tuber oregonense) are available in late fall through midwinter.
Spring white truffles (Tuber gibbosum) are very similar to winter white truffles but are available from mid-spring to early summer.
The black truffle (Leucangium carthusianum) is in season from late fall through winter. It grows in association with Douglas fir forests.
The brown truffle (Kalapuya brunnea) is in season from late fall through winter and grows in association with Douglas firs. It’s the least well-known of the four truffles.
Cultivated truffles
Truffle cultivation was pioneered in France in the late 1700s and early 1800s. Trees inoculated with the targeted truffle species are planted in orchards; these are usually oak trees or filbert (hazelnut) trees.
Mycologist Charles Lefevre and the Oregon Truffle Festival have spearheaded efforts to promote truffle cultivation in the Pacific Northwest. Orchards have been planted in recent years to cultivate and establish the commercial production of European truffles such as the Périgord black truffle, Burgundy black truffle, and Italian white truffle. The first Périgord black truffles (Tuber melanosporum) were harvested in Oregon in 2013. Burgundy black truffles (Tuber aestivum) and Italian bianchetto truffles (Tuber borchii) were also successfully trialed around the same time in British Columbia and Idaho, respectively.
Some of these farmed truffles are already available on the market, so the industry appears to have potential.
