News

Tennessee Truffle Triumph

Chuckey, Tennessee, is not the sort of place one expects to find the holy grail of the food loving world. But on the edge of town, perched on a south-facing slope overlooking the birthplace of Davy Crockett, an orchard of 350 hazelnut trees has begun to sprout Périgord truffles, the fragrant black fungi that can send epicures, as well as routing pigs and dogs, into fits of frenzied greed.

Although unexpected, the Tennessee truffles were not unplanned. Tom Michaels, a 59-year-old plant pathologist, pianist and Scrabble tournament competitor, sprouted the hazelnut trees from seeds. He inoculated their roots with Tuber melanosporum, the Périgord truffle, before setting them in his backyard seven years ago.

But, Michaels learned that his experiment might be successful, he almost panicked. “Growing truffles is not like growing tomatoes,” he said. “You don’t just plant them one day and know that a certain number of days later they will fruit.”

Read more about this Tennessee truffle triumph at the New York Times.

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