English farmers in attempt to cultivate truffles

LONDON (Reuters Life!) - Farmers in a northern English town famous for its rhubarb and licorice sweets are moving upmarket with an attempt to grow truffles, one of the world's most expensive delicacies.

They will spread the spores from the rare black fungus normally found in France's Perigord region among the roots of oak and beech trees next to a motorway near the town of Pontefract in England's Yorkshire region.

Supermarket chain Asda, which organized the trial, said it wants to cut the price of the "black diamonds," which sell for hundreds of pounds (dollars) per kilogram.

"Truffles are so rare and expensive that very few ordinary people have ever tasted them," an Asda spokesman said. "Growing them on a large scale in Yorkshire would boost supply and cut the cost of importing them."

However, truffle lovers will have to wait up to five years to see if the experiment has worked because the pungent fungus grows so slowly.

Pontefract is known for rich soil that already supports bumper crops of rhubarb and licorice. The roots of the licorice plant are used to make sticky black local sweets called Pontefract Cakes.

Wild truffles have been collected in Britain for centuries, but commercial growing is rare.

If the trial is a success, Asda said it may extend truffle cultivation across Yorkshire.