A growing movement to make Appalachia and the southeast region of the U.S. the truffle capital of the world is being led by a farmer in southern Kentucky.
Margaret Townsend, owner and founder of Newtown Truffiere in Allen County, Kentucky, spends her days scouring her 25-acre property, led by her truffle hunting dog, Luca. Throughout the forest of oak and hazelnut trees, rare and highly coveted fungi lie beneath the soil’s surface.
From France to Appalachia
Founded in 2011, Newtown has grown to be one of the largest operating truffle farms in the U.S., and Townsend now leads the North American Truffle Growers Association. One of her top priorities as president has been improving accessibility to prospective truffle growers, especially in Appalachia.
“Kentucky used to be a big tobacco producing region, and we’ve been looking for alternative crops. And we’re as good as any, and better than most, in the right conditions, to look at truffle farming. And we need to be the center of the universe in something,” Townsend said.
Truffles are notoriously difficult to cultivate, and will only produce near the roots of inoculated trees under very specific soil and climate conditions. The most well-known and highly coveted of the fungi, Tuber melanosporum, or the Périgord Black Truffle, naturally occurs in France. Even there, reliable cultivation can be a struggle.
However, Townsend says the climate and soil quality across Appalachia mean very few adjustments need to be made to the soil to make it ideal for truffle cultivation. The first Périgords commercially produced in the US came out of an orchard in Tennessee in 2007. Since then, similar orchards have begun cultivation in Kentucky, North Carolina, and Virginia.
Known as the black diamond, Périgords are the most highly coveted truffle in the world, with prices beginning at a minimum of $60 per ounce, depending on the season. However, they’re far from the only truffles lying beneath Kentucky’s soil.
Kentucky’s indigenous truffle
Tuber cumberlandense, or the Kentucky Winter White, is one of the two truffle species growing on Townsend’s orchard. Named for the Cumberland Plateau where Townsend and Luca discovered it in 2021, the truffle is now highly coveted among local chefs.
“Our chefs are really talking about farm to table, we’re starting to talk about foraging, and boy, this is just a great angle to bring in when we start to talk about that in Kentucky,” Townsend said.
Comparatively smaller than the Périgord Black Truffle, the Kentucky Winter White is prized for its nutty, earthy flavor and wide range of culinary pairings. While efforts have been made to cultivate it, the truffle appears in the wild across Kentucky, Tennessee, West Virginia, and Ohio, enjoying a symbiotic relationship with its host, the white oak tree. Townsend says this presents a perfect opportunity for foragers, and their dogs, to enjoy truffles at home without the added cost.
“On the west coast, we’ve got some native truffles. On the east coast, we’ve got some native truffles. So, if you don’t want to go invest in a big orchard, then get a dog, form a relationship, and go have fun in the woods. There’s worse things to do,” she said.
Aiding in the cultivation of Kentucky’s indigenous truffle, Townsend consulted with the bourbon distiller Maker’s Mark to begin their own truffle orchard at Star Hill Farm in Marion County. They’ve trained their own truffle hunting dog, Star, and are working to cultivate the two species of truffle that lie beneath their 1,000-tree orchard of hazelnut, oak, and pecan trees.
Other truffle species found across Appalachia include Tuber lyonii, the Pecan Truffle, and Tuber canaliculatum, the Appalachian Truffle.
Beware synthetic truffle flavoring
Townsend said that while grocery stores have been quick to capitalize on the growing trend of truffle pairings, it’s rare to see the actual fungus on grocery store shelves. Companies boasting pairings with hot sauce, salt, and oils frequently use a synthetic compound known as 2,4-dithiapentane to mimic the smell of truffles, while still charging the premium price of the fungus.
“It’s like strawberry flavoring is to a strawberry. Truffle oil, truffle butter, truffle mustard, tapenade, fries, popcorn – that’s not truffles,” Townsend said. “You may have dehydrated some truffle and grated it in there, but that truffle is not carrying any flavor anymore. It’s the 2,4-dithiapentane,” she said.
She explained that while there is a market for artificial truffle flavoring, it should be priced accordingly, and used to introduce new customers to the true high-end product.
“I don’t have any problem with strawberry bubblegum, I love strawberry bubblegum,” she said. “If you like 2,4-dithiapentane, have at it, but I do have a problem with them charging the premium price that they charge for it when it’s a chemical reproduction. Nobody pays $10 for a stick of strawberry bubblegum.”
With the popularity of truffles growing globally, she hopes to see further regulations made regarding the labeling of truffle products, similar to the distinction of vanilla and vanillin.
Through partnerships with local restaurants, tours of her orchard, and consulting with local farmers, Townsend expects to see more exposure to the truffle industry and increased interest from farmers to take part in the high end specialty crop.
“It’s a high end product, wouldn’t this be great for the region? Just think about the industries that come off of this. Not only are we growing truffles, we’re creating an agri-tourism destination to invite new people to the region. Whether it’s an orchard or going foraging with your dog, there are so many possibilities.”
