Recently, one of members found something special when she purchased corn at a market. The surprise? Corn smut! She
purchased some fresh ears of corn from a market and later in
the day she started to remove the husks. When she removed the husk from the last ear of corn she had a
surprise which she initially thought was a huge insect and she quickly threw the ear
of corn into the sink. When the object didn't budge, she
decided to live dangerously and pressed it with her finger to see if it would move. No, it didn't move. Upon closer examination, it looked a little like mold in certain
spots. So she decided to do what all good "Crop Scouts" do... she Googled it!
Imagine her surprise when she discovered that corn smut(Ustilago maydis) is a delicacy in Mexico. A brief perusal of the literature revealed that in some urban markets Huatlicoche sells for $25 per pound. Chefs in many of the larger cities have incorporated Huatlicoche into their menus. In 1989 the James Beard Foundation held a dinner in its honor,
christening it "Mexican truffle" to promote its prestige. It sort of
worked. In the '90s the USDA, responding to demand, cleared Florida and
Pennsylvania to infect crops with the parasitic fungus.
Here are some pictures of Ustilago maydis on the ear of corn.
So, the next time you are eating Huatlicoche at that upscale city restaurant remember the fungus that made your gourmet meal possible.
For additional information/articles on Huitlacoche(Ustilago maydis) please visit the links listed below:
2. Here's a link to an article (prepared by W.F. Tracy, C. Vargas, L. Zepeda, J.K. Pataky, and M.A. Chandleron) titled 'Production and Marketing of Huitlacoche' from Purdue: http://www.hort.purdue.edu/
3. Here's another link to an article by Mary Ann Hansen, Extension Plant Pathologist, Department of Plant Pathology, Physiology and Weed Science, Virginia TechVirginia Cooperative Extension: http://pubs.ext.vt.edu/450/
4. And from the Boston Globe Food Section, an article titled 'His crop isn't pretty, but it tastes great', by Eric Goldscheider, Globe Correspondent: http://www.eric-goldscheider.
5. An article titled 'Huitlacoche Corn Smut: How to Grow it and How to Prevent It': http://voices.yahoo.com/
And, if you were wondering about the nutritional value of Huitlacoche...
http://www.examiner.com/
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/
Other articles/info that may be of interest:
http://www.news.wisc.edu/12896
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/
