A Truffling Development

For the first time, black truffles successfully cultivated in North America!

See http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/28/dining/28truf.html?pagewanted=1&ei=5070&en=7d2a3cbe6cfb207a&ex=1173416400&emc=eta1

In Chuckey Tenn. (how long before we get the frst jokes about that?)

I read the article yesterday. Great ! I am glad that there are people with passion, imagination, persistence to accomplish such feats. Will still wait for the price to come down.

Wow Christina - you must have been waiting for my post to respond with blinding speed!

Yes, that's always the problem. Take a product produced with low overhead (basically a secretive Frenchman and his canine or porcine companion) and translate it into a high cost area in terms of land, labour etc., and it is going to be hard to compete in terms of price.

Might get those swashbuckling French truffle vendors to moderate their price increases a bit though!

I thought it interesting that NC was looking into this as an alternative cash crop for small farmers. In much of Appalachia (especially WV, KY and NC) small farmers used to survive off their tobacco base and have been devestated by the various attempts to reduce/prevent tobacco use. This could also be an interesting "backyard" crop akin to ginseng. H-m-m-m I wonder if I could plant a few trees in my "lower two...." I could use a buffer against another stock fall.

Ah yes - rural Appalachia where you can grow cash crops under ground and breakfast is eggs and bacon - from the pigs that failed the final exam at truffle school.....

Ah yes - rural Appalachia where you can grow cash crops under ground and breakfast is eggs and bacon - from the pigs that failed the final exam at truffle school.....

Yeah, but if the pigs had passed a few pop quizzes -- imagine how good they might taste! Besides, growing truffles beats growing the other cash crop popular around here -- it's not not an arrestable offense. (And they couldn't spot it from a helicopter)