A Rare Truffle Was Hidden For 10 Years In An Unlikely US City

Unexpected food discoveries are surprisingly abundant, one great example being popcorn, which has been around longer than you think. According to Popcorn.org, this popular movie-time snack was found in a New Mexico bat cave. They were spotted around 1950, dating 4,000 years old at the time. Another strange pop-up spot for corn was in a Chilean burial ground; although the ears of corn were 1,000 years old, they were still able to pop and be consumed. Likewise, truffles sometimes pop up where you least expect them. 

Truffles are known to be expensive and difficult to grow, as you'd need to invest in truffle-producing trees to successfully farm them. Per Truffle Farms, truffles make a great investment, perhaps even better than crypto-currency because you're guaranteed not to lose all the money you put into it. By investing in truffle-producing trees, you're likely to be raking in profits for years to come. According to Medibank, truffles can be integrated into chocolate, burgers, pizza, and other popular food types.

A rare truffle found its way to a United States city, though it didn't originate there like popcorn did in the New Mexican bat cave. Due to its scarcity, though, it was pretty uncommon to find it in such a place.

A hard-to-find truffle was hiding right in the Appalachian Mountains for 10 years, with a single man knowing of its existence (per CNN Travel). The Asheville, North Carolina hiker named Alan Muskat kept his discovery of Blue Ridge Truffles a secret after discovering them in 2007. 

"As far as we know these can only be found in Japan, and in the Blue Ridge Mountains of the U.S.," Muskat told the outlet. "Right now the only way to taste this truffle that I know of is to come here to Asheville." He revealed his findings when he brought a truffle to his friend and Wicked Weed Brewing's Cultura and Funkatorium on the South Slope owner Eric Morris. He is now incorporating these delicacies into his recipes.

According to Truff, these fungi grow only in suitable areas, usually near the base of a poplar, beech, or oak tree. Even the most common truffle, the white truffle, will put you back nearly $2,300 for a pound. The particular truffle that Muskat found, the Blue Ridge Truffle, might just be the rarest type in the world.