Global warming good news for truffle lovers

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New research from Oregon State University indicates that the warming world may be good news for chefs who cook with truffles and the entrepreneurs who make their money selling the often smelly fungi.

Prized truffles, which can sell for as much as $1,500 per pound, favor hotter, drier forest habitats, scientists say.

James Trappe, a professor in OSU's Department of Forest Ecosystems and Society, has studied forests and truffles for 55 years and has published articles on more than 150 new species.

"All truffles are probably edible, but of the estimated 6,000 species, only a couple dozen are actually used in cooking," Trappe said.

The truffle, like the mushroom, is the fruit of a fungus, but unlike mushrooms, truffles grow underground. Truffles are found all over the world but are predominant in areas with cool, wet winters and warm dry summers.

The most sought-after truffles are difficult to find and even harder to cultivate. New World Truffieres of Eugene is already sold out of its 2010 stock of trees inoculated with a popular strain of black truffles.

The Oregon Truffle Festival will hold its sixth annual event in January. Organizers say the industry continues to grow in Oregon and could reach $200 million in direct sales within 20 years.