This Strange Looking Corn Is Actually A Delicacy To Some Minnesotans
While the chances of your sweet corn looking like this, this year it seems like the odds are low low, corn smut, also known as huitlacoche in Mexico is actually a delicacy for some Minnesotans. Some Minnesotans with a Mexican background or if you enjoy Latin American cuisine enjoy eating corn smut, specifically in the form of quesadillas and tacos.
Corn smut is a plant disease. According to the University of Minnesota Extension Office website, this is how the corn smut is formed on the ears of corn.
"Galls (abnormal growths) can appear anytime throughout the growing season on any above ground plant part. Young, actively growing tissue is especially susceptible. Galls commonly develop on ears, leaves, stalk, or tassels and are initially covered with white to silvery tissue. Later, dark masses of spores develop inside the galls. Leaf galls generally remain small. - U of MN Extension Office
The corn smut, if harvested early on, holds its moisture better and has been described as tasting "mushroom-like, sweet, savory, woody, and earthy" while smut that has been growing longer on the cob tends to dry out when cooked and turns brittle, with a reduced flavor.
I'm open to trying new foods, I think that is what makes being alive so much fun, but I would have to try corn smut after it's been taken off the cob, it just looks gross on the cob to me.
Have you ever tried corn smut, aka the 'Mexican Truffle' before?
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