MAGAZINE ABOUT LIFE IN ISRAEL

Desert Truffles are the New Cash Crop

in Tourism & Nature

The Ramat HaNegev Desert Agriculture Center has grown a new, luxurious and exquisite truffle, one which they claim costs almost as much as silver – and about four times more than uranium.

The newest desert truffle sells for about $120 per pound and is priced highly, as other truffles, due to their difficultly to cultivate. Generally, truffles are considered delicacy because they require a specific kind of care and resources in order to grow underground. They commonly require a particular soil or tree, and in the case of the desert truffle, the blend actually requires very little water.

Led by Ofer Guy, the team discovered a specific fungus in the ground, and says that the middle eastern delicacy is a blend of a rare fungus Terfezia leonis which grows unpredictably, and the common desert plant of Helianthemum sessiliflorum. The marriage of the two is now dubbed the desert truffle and can be considered Israel’s top ‘cash’ crop.

Based in the startup city of Tel Aviv, Zo Flamenbaum is a writer and social entrepreneur who dedicates her time to mission-driven projects that empower connection between the many diverse layers of our world. In 2014, she founded School of Shine as a value-based educational space for women who are tired of the ‘default life’ and crave personal freedom through self-expression for more purposeful living.

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