Acquired Ethnic Cuisine & Gardening

[baymule]

I haven’t even had a garden the past few years. That is sad.
My Daddy always had a garden. He loved to try new things. When the long slender eggplant showed up, he was delighted to grow it and give the eggplant away. Being the jokester that he was, he told people that it was black bananas and not to peel it, but cut in slices. He told them to dip the slices in milk and beaten egg, roll in cornmeal and fry. People loved it! Best bananas they ever had!

 

[ducks4you]

10 Fascinating Food Stories to Share Over Dinner - Modern Farmer

Food is personal. It's more than just what you eat. It ties you to a community, to a culture. It can be history. It can be innovation. It can be an act of

modernfarmer.com

 

[ducks4you]

I always thought that This was called, "Smut," and ruined your corn crop.

Huitlacoche, a Mexican Fungus, is Popping Up On Restaurant Menus Across the US - Modern Farmer

Carolina Aboumrad, a restaurant supplier, was having lunch at a Mexican eatery in Los Angeles. While chatting with the server, she mentioned she sources

modernfarmer.com

 

[digitS']

Not quite what I was looking for in this thread but :

Why the Tomato Was Feared in Europe for More Than 200 Years

How the fruit got a bad rap from the beginning

www.smithsonianmag.com

 

[Zeedman]

I always thought that This was called, "Smut," and ruined your corn crop.

Huitlacoche, a Mexican Fungus, is Popping Up On Restaurant Menus Across the US - Modern Farmer

Carolina Aboumrad, a restaurant supplier, was having lunch at a Mexican eatery in Los Angeles. While chatting with the server, she mentioned she sources

modernfarmer.com

It does ruin the crop, especially if you are growing sweet corn. Hard to eliminate from a garden site too, if the spores are allowed to break free. Varieties with tighter husks are less likely to get infected. Shorter varieties, with ears closer to the ground, are more vulnerable.

Anyone who actually wishes to cultivate huitlacoche should try growing "Gaspe' flint corn. The ears are close to the ground, born 4-5 to a plant... and in my garden, were heavily infected by smut. It really kept me busy, trying to remove the infected ears before the spores could be released. Good thing there are so many ears per plant; I lost about 75% of them to the smut (and even more to mice), but was still able to collect a fairly good seed crop.