Eat More Toadstools Blog

Farmers at the local farmers’ markets (I’m a farmers’ market groupie) know to save me their ears of corn that are infected with smut (Ustilago maydis), which they really can’t sell to 99.9% of the non-Latino public.  They do not realize it is an edible fungi known as huitlacoche, or “raven’s excrement,” prized by the Aztecs and even canned in Mexico.   No, it is not ergot, and it won’t send you out into the 4th dimension.  The flavor is rather mild.  The “immature” infected kernels are best for eating.

Corn is generally bred to be resistant to this fungus, since our culture has been lead to believe that it should not be eaten.   The variety of corn in the photo is Argent, which is apparently not so resistant.  I have a few rows of corn in my backyard that I have attempted to inoculate with corn smut.  But the ear below, which is really the best example I have ever come across, was saved for me by Dora Beltran, the manager of Penn Farm in Colonial Beach, VA.  If you’re in the Washington, DC area, you can find her and many other farmers at the local markets.   Stop by her booth and support your local farmer.

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