About Marybeth, National Geographic Author, Writer

Curious Explorer. Award-winning author.

Gutsy Traveler: A woman, like travel expert Marybeth Bond, stands among purple flowers, raising her arms and smiling in front of a wooden building in bright sunlight.
Polar bear tracking and snorkeling with beluga whales in the northern Canadian Arctic.

Marybeth knows travel. She has hiked, biked, dived, danced and trekked across all seven continents – from the depths of the Flores Sea near Komodo Island to the summit of Kilimanjaro.

More recently, she tracked polar bears and snorkeled with beluga whales in the Canadian Arctic, then kayaked among icebergs in Antarctica.

Somewhere in between, four years of studying in Paris earned her two degrees – and a taste for good wine and strong cheeses.

Twelve books (three with National Geographic), countless travel articles, and numerous TV and radio appearances have built her devoted fanbase. She won the esteemed Lowell Thomas, Gold Award for the Best Travel Book of the Year from the Society of American Travel Writers Foundation.

Woman on cliff in front of a monastery in Bhutan
Yesterday’s Video below. A decade or more later. Is Marybeth still GUTSY? Here in Bhutan.
Marybeth in Antarctica with penguins, snowy mountains, and water—just the kind of moment travel expert Marybeth Bond would capture in a travel video.
Kayaking and camping near penguins in Antarctica.

Yesterday….

 

Gourmet Gold. What a gift! Perigord Truffles – Expensive little fungi. Truffles are the most profitable legal crop in the world. The demand for black truffles, the most sought after truffles in the culinary world, far exceeds supply.

Aroma and the sweet taste of Perigord Truffles…and YES…from Australia.

Expensive little fungi that the ancient Romans and Greeks though were an aphrodisiac.

Well, I’m in good company; Louis XIV and Napoleon were also extremely fond of them.

Black Truffle Cultivation
Unlike the Italian white truffles, black truffles have been
cultivated for decades. Cultivation is very compatible with
vineyards – in fact, growing truffles can be seven to ten times
more profitable than growing grapes.

Truffles are the most profitable legal crop in the world.  Truffle orchards are highly profitable – as much as 7-12 times more per acre than vineyards – and are an excellent and viable way to diversify land usage. The demand for black truffles, the most sought after truffles in the culinary world, far exceeds supply.

I used to think that black truffle production was almost
exclusively European – predominately France, followed by
Spain and Italy, with small amounts in Slovenia, Croatia and
Australia.

But now black truffles can be cultivated in select areas around the world; and Northern California and Australia especially Napa, Sonoma and Western Australia offer particularly suitable climates/soil.

I’ve been reading a lot about cooking with  fresh truffles since my friends at the Wine and Truffle Company in Manjimup Western Australia sent me this mother lode. www.wineandtruffles.com.au

The aroma is earthy and rich; and it drives my gourmand friends crazy.

Pasta or risotto with truffles tops the list for the most popular way to enjoy these diamonds of the cuisine.

Learn about the Napa Truffle Festival – www.napatrufflefestival.com

and Truffle Cultivation at www.americantruffle.com

Try the TRUFFLE RISOTTO recipe adapted from one of Emeril’s Creole Christmas Books by Emeril Lagasse with Marcelle Bienvenu. Published by William Morrow.


 

 

 

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Marybeth Bond