The culinary power of truffles lies in their seductive scents, developed slowly underground: the aromatic complexity is at once wholly of the earth and touching the sublime. Prized for their ability to elevate even the simplest fare—a bowl of rice, a plate of noodles, or a humble egg—truffles, being rare, command a high price from their traditional sources in Italy and France. But they’re also found a bit more affordably in Warrenton, North Carolina, at Burwell Farms.
Six generations of the Burwell Davis family have farmed land that was granted to their ancestor for service in the Revolutionary War, turning in 2014 from growing tobacco to raising bianchetto truffles, also known as white spring truffles. Suited to the soils and tree hosts found in eastern North Carolina, bianchetto truffles are the little sister of European white truffles. While perhaps not as overwhelming in their scent as their European counterparts, they offer a tremendous amount of complexity and pleasure—and at less than half the price ($100/oz.). Burwell Farms also sells loblolly pine seedlings inoculated with bianchetto truffle mycorrhizae, should you desire to grow your own ($100/tree). Burwellfarmsnc.com
Susannah is the Editorial Coordinator for Wine & Spirits magazine in addition to covering the wines of Greece and Cyprus.
This story appears in the print issue of Winter 2022.
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