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Truffles are a unique and diverse specialty crop in our state that have been researched on farms over the past few years. We aren’t talking about the sweet chocolate treats. These truffles are grown on the roots of trees and resemble mushrooms in a variety of fashions. Father and son duo Brian and Davis Upchurch have been producing truffle trees and truffles for over ten years at their farm in Fletcher and continue to learn something new every day!
In 2015, Brian and Davis Upchurch established Carolina Truffières by planting their first orchard at their home in Fletcher. “My family comes from an ornamental horticulture background, with my dad working in the industry and running our previous family business for over twenty years,” Davis said. “When that business sold in 2008, we kept all the farmland and began researching what to do with it that would diversify the industry and make use of our land.” Throughout his childhood, Davis travelled with his father to many countries overseas, including Japan, Europe and Asia, to learn about truffle production and harvest. “Truffles are a part of their culture overseas, especially in Europe, and have been for a very long time,” Davis said. “Not only do they have a plethora of knowledge on how to produce them on a commercial scale, but also how to use them in the kitchen.” After gleaning from the knowledge of several truffle growers across the world, Davis and Brian started their own truffle operation with nearly 100 acres of orchard. Today, Carolina Truffières is the largest truffle orchard in North America growing twelve varieties of truffles throughout the year.
Before we dive into how truffles are grown, harvested, and used, we must first understand what exactly a truffle is. According to Davis, truffles are an underground fruiting body of mushroom that develop on the exterior of tree roots. “Imagine an above-ground mushroom growing in the wild,” he said. “Now, flip it inward, wrap a protective shell around it, and place it in the ground on or near the roots of a growing tree, and that’s how a truffle is grown.” All varieties of truffles colonize on the exterior of tree roots, including oaks, hazels, hornbeam and pines. Except for hornbeam, these are the primary trees grown in the orchard at Carolina Truffières.
Much like mushrooms, there are a variety of truffles that grow natively in the wild across our state. In addition to these four native varieties, Carolina Truffières produces eight overseas varieties from seed. “We cultivate a lot of European truffles at our orchard because they grow so well in North Carolina’s soil and climate,” Davis said. “For example, one of our overseas varieties grows really well on the loblolly pine, a native tree to our state. It’s incredible how these species adapt to our area!” Beyond the varieties they produce for consumer sales each year, Davis and his family also operate several small research plots, most around 20 trees, where they experiment with different varieties and species. “Truffles are a very interesting crop for many reasons, one being that different species will grow to their peak at separate seasons so as to not compete with one another,” Davis said. “Not only does this quality keep the tree roots healthy and prevent overcrowding, but it also allows our facility to harvest year-round truffles for chefs and consumers.” Carolina Truffières produces winter, summer, fall and spring truffles, with some varieties, like the native pecan variety, growing year-round.
So how are truffles produced commercially? All varieties start with seed or cuttings that Brian and Davis purchase or produce in-house from partnering universities, both domestic and international. “We start with the cuttings because the roots have nothing on them,” Davis said. “We inoculate those roots with the truffle variety we are working to produce and sit them in the greenhouse for one year. Throughout that year the trees are checked on and cared for until they are ready to be transferred outside.” Once the initial year has passed, the trees are planted in the orchard and could have anywhere from a three to eight year waiting period before truffles are ready for harvest. “It takes a lot of patience and faith to grow truffles because of how long they take to grow and how much they cost to produce,” Davis said. “Although they can be labor intensive, truffles are a very diverse and beneficial crop for our state’s agriculture industry.”
Typically, the orchard is checked each year by Brian and his team to see which trees are ready for harvest. What do they look for initially? A circle around the base of the tree containing no weeds or grass. “Another cool thing about truffles is that they take care of the tree by getting rid of anything competing for root spaces and nutrition, like weeds,” Davis said. “Typically, the trees that are producing happy, healthy truffles will have a circle or oval around them that varies in width from 3 feet to 6 feet in diameter and almost looks burned.” One of the most important members of the Carolina Truffières team is Mila, the truffle dog! Mila is a Lagotto Romagnolo, which is a breed out of Europe that instinctively smells and harvests truffles. Any species of dog can be trained to smell and hunt truffles, but the Lagotto Romagnolo breed has this in their nature. Each year, Mila walks the orchard with Brian and Davis to determine which truffles are ready for harvest. How does she know? She can smell them! “When Mila sniffs out the truffles on a tree, she will dig a little and then stop to let us know where to harvest,” Davis said. “We typically carve a circle around where she scratches and then pop out that whole pod of soil. This process allows us to carefully extract the truffles without damaging any of the exterior.” All truffle harvesting is done by hand, making it a very slow and labor-intensive process for Brian and Davis. “It can be tedious work, but we enjoy it,” Davis said. “We take pride in producing a crop that many consumers and farmers alike are just starting to scratch the surface on.”
Most truffles harvested at Carolina Truffières are sold to chefs across the state. Any interested chefs can simply call or email Brian and/or Davis to be put on their list of partners. Consumers interested in purchasing truffles from Carolina Truffières can also reach out via the website, phone or social media to inquire about available varieties and quantities. “We mostly sell to chefs because they are not only familiar with the crop, but they know how to use them in a variety of ways,” Davis said, “but we also enjoy educating consumers on truffles anytime we can, including how to store them and use them.” Due to their shelf life, truffles have to be stored in a specific way to ensure quality freshness. Although it depends on the species, most truffles have a one-to-two-week shelf life from the time of harvest. “Once the truffles are purchased, they should be cleaned really well, to remove all the dirt, and patted dry,” Davis said. “Once dry, wrap each truffle individually in a paper towel, place them in an airtight container, and store them in the fridge until ready to use.” Although they can be used in a variety of ways, Davis enjoys cooking his truffles with scrambled eggs, steak or eaten like charcuterie with cheese and/or prosciutto. “Truffles are an acquired taste and can produce a variety of flavor profiles, from fruity and nutty to garlic and spicy,” Davis said. “I recommend everyone try them in a variety of ways, especially in Italian dishes where they originated, and see how you enjoy them best!”
We are so proud of all that Brian and Davis are doing to diversify truffles as a specialty crop in our state. “As I said before, we have only begun to scratch the surface of what this crop can do for farmers, chefs and consumers across the state and the world,” Davis said. “Who knows where we will be five or ten years from now, but I look forward to seeing the opportunities for this crop expand across the North Carolina agriculture scene.” Keep an eye out for truffle on the menu at restaurants across the state and be sure to try some in your home kitchen if you get the chance!