left Fourth-generation restaurateur and chef, Christopher Czarnecki (not shown), carries on the family’s passion at the Joel Palmer House, where menus revolve around wild mushrooms and truffles, while his brother, Stefan (left), and father, Jack (right), spend their time foraging, harvesting, and preparing the truffles that are used at the restaurant and in their line of truffle oils. far left Deciding if we had indeed found a truffle or just a white rock!
little different about truffles coming out of Oregon. Gaining in popularity and comparing favorably with their European cousins, the Oregon white truffle (Tuber gibbosum) and the Oregon black truffle (Leucangium carthusianum) grow under folds of Douglas fir from late October to late spring. Instead of dogs and pigs, which are used in Europe to find the famed French black truffle (Tuber melanosporum) or the renowned white truffle (Tuber magnatum) of Alba, which is found in the Piedmont district of Italy, Oregon truffles depend on small rodents to remove them from below the surface of the earth.
V ISI T T HE JOE L PA LME R H O U S E F O R A DE LI C I OUS T RUF F LE- I N S PI R E D ME A L
(Some Oregon truffle hunters, however, do you use dogs to find ripe truffles.) Small freshly made holes at the base of the fir are excellent indicators that animals have been digging for fungi and the starting point for our hunt. We used our rakes to pull back mossy green tufts and decomposing leaves that lined the base of the tree trunks. Before long, I was down on hand and knee wiping away rich earth to reveal my first find: a dime-sized truffle that smelled like moldy laundry and looked like a dirty white rock. Despite its underwhelming size, color, and aroma, I was elated. I couldn’t wait to show off my prize.