Research on Finnish truffle cultivation takes a leap forward
Juvan tryffelikeskusThe Helsinki University of Technology and Juva Truffle Centre are planting truffle mycelium in the roots of pine, spruce and birch. When the research was started three years ago there was no certainly whether truffles could even be grown in Finland. Now however even wild truffles have been found in Finland. For this reason researchers believe that suitable cultivation techniques can be developed also for Finnish conditions.
The Director of both, the research and Juva Truffel Centre Dr. Salem Shamekh tells that in the beginning the research was under a lot of skepticism and securing funding for it was difficult. However, thanks to the good and permissive research ethos the research has been able to take a leap forward. Nowadays the researcher is often asked questions about the costs involved in establishing a truffle orchard, commercialization of the research and the best truffle recipes.
One of the Truffle Centre's plans is to facilitate the search for wild truffles. For this purpose the centre will acquire an Italian-trained dog specialized in unearthing truffles. The centre's intentions for next summer include truffle unearthing training for dogs, a truffle dog championship, as well as providing guidance to new truffle farmers.
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