Is nothing sacred? First, champagne. For hundreds of years the elixir was produced only in the French region of Champagne and preferably by a monk. Then, along came the interlopers, and high-quality "sparkling wine" elbowed its way next to the Dom Perignon.
Now the sanctity of truffles--those black diamonds, white gold, heaven's gift to dank and mossy spots only in France and Italy--is being challenged by, yes . . . American truffles.
European truffles, costing as much as $150 an ounce, have long been the purview of the vastly rich or the fungally addicted. Today 30 measly bucks will get you enough domestic truffles at the Santa Monica Farmers Market to load up a creditable risotto.
"I come here every week," says Santa Monica construction worker Chris Standerwick, picking through David West's mushroom-and-truffle stand. West's truffles come from Northern California and Oregon. "Back in 1973, I used to live in Italy and France, and these truffles are just as good as the ones in Europe. First time I saw those truffles here, I went, 'Oh, my God!' And I've been a stone truffle junkie ever since."
In truth, competition from American varieties is not causing Europeans the slightest frisson of anxiety. But American truffles are gaining a niche: Call them truffles for the people--fungi for all.
"American truffles?" trills Julia Child, who taught Americans the difference between tarte tatin and apple pie, beurre blanc and melted butter. "Is there really such a thing?" But Child recovers quickly and vouches for them on principle. Any truffle harvested locally is darn well going to be just as good as a European one.
"They might be better; why not?" she says by telephone from her Santa Barbara home. "I'm very chauvinistic about California," she announces. "It's wonderful what we've done with our food and our wine and our produce. Of course, I still think French cooking is the best because it's careful cooking by people who know what they're doing. But you can't beat great fresh produce, and I'd be happy to eat domestic truffles!"
She adds: "But then, I don't use that many truffles, do you?"
Contrary to conventional wisdom, American truffles have been harvested for more than 100 years. Creating a market for them, however, has been another matter.
"You have no idea how difficult it is to sell truffles," says Dan Wheeler, chief executive of Oregon White Truffles in Portland, with a sigh. Along with Garland Gourmet Mushrooms & Truffles of North Carolina, he is one of a handful of domestic distributors. But he might as well try to sell grits in Maine or tofu in Texas.
