North Carolina Truffles

[hazardnc]

This egullet thread is about an article that appeared in the Washington Post. The article is about a North Carolina farmer who has successfully raised decent truffles in Roseville, NC (outside of Raleigh).

I am very excited about the prospect of NC becoming a "foodie" destination Whether it's truffles or caviar, goat cheese or wine. I have long envied Californians and their access to a wide variety of local products, and I look forward to more "terroir" products in the future.

Do any of you egulleteers have a list of NC farm-raised products?

[Tonyy13]

Living in the baren Florida, I am happy that NC is becoming a foodie place to be. I staged at Magnolia Grill in Durham, and it seemed to be one of the only places around to give a damn about sexy food.

Be carefull about envy for the Californian people though... they are dealing with issues on their own both here and here.

[hazardnc]

The California wild mushroom issue is most likely being driven by cultivated mushroom growers. The foie gras issue by animal rghts advocates. I was going to mention previously that I would love to start a duck farm (I love all things duck - including the liver) but omitted that b/c of the controversy.

That being said, California still has a wealth of local products, and I hope North Carolinians embrace the terroir concept. We need to encourage more local famers - especially the organic growers. It only makes sense that these foods are fresher and better than those trucked in from California.

Our climate prevents us from growing the variety of produce California grows year rond. However, Europe is faced with the same issues. European cooks now how to cook with what is in season. We need to do the same.

[DTBarton]

Not farm raised, but in the summer and fall the fresh local seafood available on Hatteras island is fantastic. Local shrimp, crabs, clams, fish of many varieties.

[Gifted Gourmet]

Do any of you egulleteers have a list of NC farm-raised products?

←

Not exactly farm-raised but quite interesting for North Carolinians nonetheless:

the article

[debbiemoose]

If you love small farms (like I do) and want to get a sense of what's being grown - plus have fun - anyone in the vicinity should go on the Carolina Farm Stewardship Association's annual tour of small farms. It's a great day for kids, too. Most of the farms are in Chatham and Orange counties (about 30 minutes from Raleigh). The tour has grown so much that it's impossible to hit all the farms in one day and has been spread over a weekend. You can see everything being raised from organic buffalo, hydroponic tomatoes, natural milk/ice cream to all kinds of veg. Farmers describe their techniques, which is very interesting. The tour is usually in April or May, but I haven't checked on the date for this year's - try the CFSA web site, carolinafarmsteward.org. I think that's right. You get a map and drive yourself, so it's a nice day in the country as well. CFSA, in Chapel Hill, is a non-profit that promotes and helps small sustainable and organic farmers. I think CFSA also has info on farms that offer community-supported agriculture. If you don't know what that is, you buy a share (or some variation) of the farm for a fee and you then get a weekly allotment of what it produces. Some farms, like the one I support, let you pick what you want.

I could go on about NC farms all day- I love 'em! Buy local!

Debbie

[ChefSwartz]

Living in the baren Florida, I am happy that NC is becoming a foodie place to be.  I staged at Magnolia Grill in Durham, and it seemed to be one of the only places around to give a damn about sexy food. 

ahem, i must say ben is the king right now, but there is definetly an uprising, the king will soon fall...

[hazardnc]

If you love small farms (like I do) and want to get a sense of what's being grown - plus have fun - anyone in the vicinity should go on the Carolina Farm Stewardship Association's annual tour of small farms.  It's a great day for kids, too. Most of the farms are in Chatham and Orange counties (about 30 minutes from Raleigh). The tour has grown so much that it's impossible to hit all the farms in one day and has been spread over a weekend. You can see everything being raised from organic buffalo, hydroponic tomatoes, natural milk/ice cream to all kinds of veg. Farmers describe their techniques, which is very interesting. The tour is usually in April or May, but I haven't checked on the date for this year's - try the CFSA web site, carolinafarmsteward.org. I think that's right. You get a map and drive yourself, so it's a nice day in the country as well. CFSA, in Chapel Hill, is a non-profit that promotes and helps small sustainable and organic farmers. I think CFSA also has info on farms that offer community-supported agriculture. If you don't know what that is, you buy a share (or some variation) of the farm for a fee and you then get a weekly allotment of what it produces. Some farms, like the one I support, let you pick what you want.

I could go on about NC farms all day- I love 'em! Buy local!

Debbie

←

Thank you Debbie! That is exactly what I have been looking for. Sadly, there seem to be far fewer CFSA farms in the Charlotte vicinity, but I did manage to find two that I plan on investigating.

Now - how do I get the local Fresh Market or Dean and Deluca to start carrying North Carolina cheese?

[flapjack willy]

Chef Swartz, I must say I agree with your last post. Who do you have in mind to topple the king?

[morda]

This isn't in NC, but close enough to the border with SC to be worth mentioning:

Split Creek Goat Farm

Yummy cheeses and fudge. They goat milk and chicken eggs as well. And the farm is a sight to see..all the animals are peacefully coexisting and looking happy and healthy. I went by this weekend and saw the cutest week-old baby goats. They are having a "Spring Festival" on April 17 which sounds like a lot of fun.

They say that they will be featured National Geographic Traveler Magazine sometime in the near future.

morda

[scottie]

I'm all about locally produced food, here in North Carolina as well as elsewhere in the whole grand world. Here are a couple more websites which can help y'all find out about Old North State produce and farms:

local harvest.org

Tells you all about the farm-related happenings in your area, and all over the U.S., with weekly updates

Southern Sawg

A non-profit like CFSA, but covering the whole Southern region. Local farmer Alex Hitt of Peregrine Farms is on the board.

You might also be interested in the Sustainable Ag program at Central Carolina Community College, where a lot of cool, cutting edge stuff like biofuel production is going on. I took some classes there last year, and I learned that 80% of the organic produce sold in this state is imported. That is totally unnecessary; we have the means to produce our own food here! Our small family farms could be making that money, instead of sending it out-of-state to California or some place.

Furthermore, I'd just like to point out that aquaculture is not necessarily all that great or sustainable. There are, however, some proven sustainable methods of fish farming, including aquaponics, which is practiced by the fine folks at Eagle Springs Farm. Their tilapia is really fantastic.

Finally, the caviar mentioned at the beginning of this thread is available at Weaver Street Market in Carrboro- for $8 less than on the website.

And BTW, CFSA is headquartered in Pittsboro, not Chapel Hill. Pittsboro is also home to the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy, which won an award from the Slow Foods folks a few years back for preserving and promoting the famed Heritage Turkey breeds, such as Bronze and Bourbon Red.

Hope this helps. Go Carolina!