Why Oregon’s Wild Truffles Can Rival Their European Counterparts

A handful of Oregon white truffles. Courtesy of Stefan Czarnecki

Gathered from the woods of Oregon with the help of a truffle dog, fresh truffles have a distinct and odorous flavor.

The first bite brings hints of mushrooms, Stefan Czarnecki said, “but as you chew it and digest it, the truffle warms and heats so the gasses are released and you end up enjoying it on a whole different level. That’s why it’s so popular served shaved fresh over food. And then you’re eating the food as you’re breathing in those gases and aromas and it’s a whole sensory experience.”

Czarnecki’s father, Jack, founded Oregon White Truffle Oil. Now Czarnecki and his wife, Meghan, run the daily operations of the business. Jack is the award-winning cookbook author of “A Cook’s Book of Mushrooms” and is a noted wild mushroom authority. He passed this passion and expertise to his son.

Oregon black truffles are rarer and slightly larger than white truffles. grafvision/Shutterstock

Oregon Truffles

You’ll find both Oregon white and Oregon black truffles in Oregon, but Czarnecki said most people prefer the subtler flavor of the Oregon white truffles. He said the white truffle isn’t as strong as an Italian truffle that you can smell from a distance, or even a synthetic truffle oil, which Czarnecki said is the norm when purchasing truffle products elsewhere. He said the truffle flavor is enhanced using a synthetic chemical gas that occurs in truffles that’s “blasted into olive oil.” The synthetic flavor is stronger than natural truffles, yet it lacks the true sense of flavor received from Oregon white truffles.

Lagotto Romagnolo dogs are able to smell truffles ripening underground, making them much easier to find. Courtesy of Stefan Czarnecki

Because he only uses true truffles to create products, Czarnecki said production is dictated by a season’s yield. A bad truffle season will lead to fewer products available to sell.

While the season changes based on the weather, Czarnecki said the Oregon winter white truffle typically grows from October through March. Then there’s a spring white truffle season that goes from May through June, depending. He adds that the black truffle will go in and out of season throughout that time.

The Hunt

“The truffle dog is key,” Czarnecki said. “Ella, my truffle dog, is a Lagotto Romagnolo.”

Once the dog locates a truffle, it’s important to pull it from the ground as ripe as possible.

“They’re better when they are ripened in the ground. If you pull a truffle out of the ground before it’s fully ripe, you can wrap them in paper towels and put [them] in the refrigerator to ripen. It’ll give off moisture as it ripens, which is why you wrap it in the paper towel; but typically we’ve found that they’re better if they ripen in the ground.”

To locate the truffles, “historically in Oregon, people have gone into Douglas fir forests with a cultivator —a rake—and look for the signs such as where the squirrels have been digging and eating the truffles. And then they will dig in that area as the truffles grow in patches.”

They typically grow underground, but Czarnecki has found truffles that break the surface and show a bit, making them easier to detect. Still, they’re elusive, and that’s where a truffle dog becomes helpful.

Oregon boasts the right climate, the right soil, and the right trees for truffles to grow. Courtesy of Stefan Czarnecki

“I highly recommend a dog because you can really hone those skills with a dog because their olfactory systems are just so much more complex, and they’re able to pick up just the ripe truffles.”

Although they don’t offer private tours any longer, group tours begin with a sign-up for a specific winemaker to accompany the truffle luncheon. The truffle hunt starts by meeting the driver in downtown Newberg, Oregon. The driver will take the group to the truffle hunting location, where Czarnecki, the winemaker, the chef, and Ella will be waiting. Following an introduction to truffles and the hunting process, “we’ll go into the woods for about 45 minutes to an hour depending on how long the dog lasts, because she has a point where she gets bored. I give her kielbasa as a treat, and if she gets full, or gets a little less motivated, she’s like, ‘I’m done.’ But it’s usually about 45 minutes of hunting,” Czarnecki said.

Hunters will get to take truffles home with them, but after the hunt is a wine-tasting truffle lunch. The chef and winemaker take over from here, introducing each course and pairing as it’s served.

Although they’ve offered modest lunches with a charcuterie board, soup, and sandwiches, Czarnecki said they’re looking to add a more impressive lunch cooked by chef Erick Caballero. “He will come out and cook something like New York steaks over the fire, finished with fresh truffles. It’ll be something more for foodies that’s special and memorable.”

The truffles themselves don’t touch the oil, as the gases they release add enough flavor on their own. Courtesy of Stefan Czarnecki

Transferring the Essence of the Truffle

Whereas most infused oils consist of a food actually steeping in oil to impart the flavor, Czarnecki said truffle oil has a unique process. “It’s called atmospheric infusion. The truffle doesn’t touch the product at all. The gases leave the truffle and bond with the fats in the food. So, a butter or oil can have a stable shelf because you have no bacteria from the truffle touching the food.”

To achieve this process, Czarnecki said to spread the truffles in an airtight container. Add the base oil in a cup (or a wrapped stick of butter or cheese) so that the truffles aren’t touching the fat—but the essence can transfer in the sealed container to the oil. Keep it in the container for a week, or if it’s a ripe truffle, only a few days. The gases will penetrate the food and bond with the fats, imparting the strong truffle flavor. The oil can then flavor foods while cooking, such as French fries or eggs.

This article was originally published in American Essence magazine.