“Man has measured Heaven, has studied the path of the comets, he has discovered the traction, has invented the steam…and he still is not able to grow truffles”.
M.Burnet (1836)
Ignoring translation issues with the quote above, why can’t we farm truffles?
You can.
See this site
http://www.truffe-perigord-noir.com/
Quand les talons claquent, l’esprit se vide.
Maréchal Lyautey
Apparently you can. This article
http://www.pathfinder.com/time/magazine/articles/intl/0,3266,28738-1,00.html
says that this one farm produces 15% of the worlds truffle supply.
“Drink your coffee! Remember, there are people sleeping in China.”
Dennis Matheson — dennis@mountaindiver.com
Hike, Dive, Ski, Climb — www.mountaindiver.com
Dr. Fidelius, Charlatan
Associate Curator Anomalous Paleontology, Miskatonic University
“You cannot reason a man out of a position he did not reach through reason.”
And mäni interesting furry animals
Considering the fact that ONE farm grows 15% of the world’s truffle supply, maybe the quote should be rectified to read “but it ain’t easy to grow truffles.”
I guess this is a little less poetic though.
According to the Perigourd site, it takes 15-20 years for a yield and by using the traditional method, you’re only going to get a 15% return. That’s if you can even find em using an expensively trained dog or a truffle hog. According to my friend, the going rate for truffles is $2,000/LB.
So it takes 20 years to get a 15% yield that you can only find with a special pig. I guess I should have phrased the OP as “why is it so freakin’ difficult to grow truffles?”