Published March 3, 2016

Truffle Hunting at Elephants Deli

Feel like you need some extra elegance in your meals? Add these deliciously inspired truffle products from Elephants Delicatessen. Drizzle some Joel Palmer Oregon Truffle oil over pasta, polenta, potatoes or risotto making any dish truly something special. Our pecorino tartufo from Italy pairs beautifully with any dish. Try truffle butter on eggs or pasta. Or elevate your charcuterie board with products like The Beautiful Pig White Truffle Champagne Salami, Alle Pia Truffle Salami, truffle honey or truffle hazelnut spread.
If your craving something sweet, try our rosemary truffle caramels from McCrea’s.
If you dont know this fancy funghi from a button mushroom, here are some fun facts to know about truffles.

• Black truffles can be found in Britain, France and across Europe, but high-quality white truffles are only found in Italy.
• “Old World” Truffles, known as the Perigord variety, are found mostly in France and Italy. However, the first Perigord variety was recently found in Oregon.
• Oregon’s native culinary truffles are gathered from Douglas fir woodlands in the Willamette Valley and the valleys of the Coast Range.
• Truffles grows beneath the surface of the soil among the root systems of specific types of trees, in particular oak, hazelnut, beech, chestnut, and develops a symbiotic relationship with those trees.
• Beware most truffle oils and salts: They are synthetic.
• Truffles grow in harmony with a host tree, enabling the tree to take in phosphorus while in return the truffle receives sugars enabling it to grow.
• The ancient Greeks thought truffles were made when lightning hit damp soil.
• Italians consider the white truffle (tuber magnatum) to be superior in taste to the black truffle (tuber melonosporum)
• Pigs, trained dogs and goats are used to sniff out truffles.
• The best dogs for truffle hunting aren’t necessarily bred for the task. Mongrels and mutts can be just as good (if not better) than purebred pooches.
• France is the largest producer of truffles, harvesting up to 30 tons a year. At the end of the nineteenth century production was over 1,000 tons.
• In the Middle Ages, monks were prohibited from eating truffles (a fabled aphrodisiac) for fear they would forget their calling.
• In 2007 a 1.5kg white Magnatum truffle sold for $330,000.
• Since January 2006, Eugene has hosted the annual Oregon Truffle Festival. It is the first festival of its kind in North America dedicated to sharing the experience of the chefs, foragers and fans of Oregon’s wild truffles.