What in the name of all that is holy is wrong with my corn?!?!
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Smart Red
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That is a fungus growing on the corn. . . known in the US as 'corn smut'. Known in Mexico . . . . .
"
In Central Mexico, locals are feasting on a unique delicacy that sprouts to life this time of year from the country's corn fields.
Cuitlacoche grows when a drop of rain seeps into a husk of corn. The moisture rots between the kernels and produces the fungus, which can grow over or side by side with the kernels.
Monica Ortiz Uribe for NPR
It's still called by its Aztec name, cuitlacoche (pronounced QUEET-la-coh-chay). The gray, stone-shaped fungus turns into a gunky, tar-like mush when cooked.
But it is revered by Mexican gourmet chefs and home-style cooks alike. The fungus — which some say has an earthy, tangy, mushroom-like flavor with a hint of raw corn — is a popular ingredient in soups and quesadillas.
Farmers hunt for cuitlacoche during the rainy season from now through mid-October.
Sometimes the farmers call the dish "el oro negro," or black gold.
In a corn field two hours south of Mexico City, farmer Ezequiel Salinas Ramon looks for cuitlacoche in an endless field of tall cornstalks.
The fungus grows inside corn husks. Cuitlacoche flourishes when droplets of rain seep into a stalk of corn and the kernels begin to rot.
Salinas, 59, who has been farming the fungus since he was a child, wades through 40 or more stalks of corn before he finds something.
"We're in luck! We've found one. Here it is," he shouts when he discovers an infested stalk.
The fungus is collected in big buckets. A pound of cuitlacoche can fetch as much as $3 on the market.
When cooked, cuitlacoche turns into a tar-like mush that is popularly used in quesadillas. Cuitlacoche is typically prepared with the Mexican herb epazote, onion and chili pepper.
Monica Ortiz Uribe for NPR
Renowned Mexico City chef Carmen Ramirez Degollado says foreigners have a lot to learn about Mexican food. She prepares her cuitlacoche simply, with the Mexican herb epazote, onion and chili pepper.
"We have a very fine Mexican cuisine. It's not all about tacos," she says.
Businesswoman Ruth Martinez recently dined on a dish of chicken-stuffed cuitlacoche at a Mexico City restaurant.
When asked to describe how it tastes, Martinez evokes a popular song by Latino singer Enrique Iglesias.
"It's a religious experience," she says.
Not a bad compliment for a fungus that in other parts of the world is simply thrown away."
Count your blessings and munch away or toss the few corn ears that show smut.
"
In Central Mexico, locals are feasting on a unique delicacy that sprouts to life this time of year from the country's corn fields.
Cuitlacoche grows when a drop of rain seeps into a husk of corn. The moisture rots between the kernels and produces the fungus, which can grow over or side by side with the kernels.
Monica Ortiz Uribe for NPR
It's still called by its Aztec name, cuitlacoche (pronounced QUEET-la-coh-chay). The gray, stone-shaped fungus turns into a gunky, tar-like mush when cooked.
But it is revered by Mexican gourmet chefs and home-style cooks alike. The fungus — which some say has an earthy, tangy, mushroom-like flavor with a hint of raw corn — is a popular ingredient in soups and quesadillas.
Farmers hunt for cuitlacoche during the rainy season from now through mid-October.
Sometimes the farmers call the dish "el oro negro," or black gold.
In a corn field two hours south of Mexico City, farmer Ezequiel Salinas Ramon looks for cuitlacoche in an endless field of tall cornstalks.
The fungus grows inside corn husks. Cuitlacoche flourishes when droplets of rain seep into a stalk of corn and the kernels begin to rot.
Salinas, 59, who has been farming the fungus since he was a child, wades through 40 or more stalks of corn before he finds something.
"We're in luck! We've found one. Here it is," he shouts when he discovers an infested stalk.
The fungus is collected in big buckets. A pound of cuitlacoche can fetch as much as $3 on the market.
When cooked, cuitlacoche turns into a tar-like mush that is popularly used in quesadillas. Cuitlacoche is typically prepared with the Mexican herb epazote, onion and chili pepper.
Monica Ortiz Uribe for NPR
Renowned Mexico City chef Carmen Ramirez Degollado says foreigners have a lot to learn about Mexican food. She prepares her cuitlacoche simply, with the Mexican herb epazote, onion and chili pepper.
"We have a very fine Mexican cuisine. It's not all about tacos," she says.
Businesswoman Ruth Martinez recently dined on a dish of chicken-stuffed cuitlacoche at a Mexico City restaurant.
When asked to describe how it tastes, Martinez evokes a popular song by Latino singer Enrique Iglesias.
"It's a religious experience," she says.
Not a bad compliment for a fungus that in other parts of the world is simply thrown away."
Count your blessings and munch away or toss the few corn ears that show smut.
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ChickenMomma91
Deeply Rooted
I don't think DH would like the idea of eating a fungus. Looks like I'm cutting off the affected ear in the morning.
digitS'
Garden Master
At one time, there were several fields of sweet corn near my garden.
A few ears with smut would show up every year.
Those fields now grow alfalfa or houses and lawn grass, some places of several acres. There hasn't been that fungus in my corn for years.
Steve
A few ears with smut would show up every year.
Those fields now grow alfalfa or houses and lawn grass, some places of several acres. There hasn't been that fungus in my corn for years.
Steve
canesisters
Garden Master
If this is such a yummy thing... why aren't they opening up the tips of ears and ADDING a bit of water on purpose?
<~~ has a feeling this is one of those nasty things that someone figured out how to add enough spices to completely cover the taste - making something that would have been garbage edible.....
<~~ has a feeling this is one of those nasty things that someone figured out how to add enough spices to completely cover the taste - making something that would have been garbage edible.....
ducks4you
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yuch!!!! I've seen this in corn that I have grown in the past. NOT interested in consuming it!!! We shall SEE if I get it on my cover corn crop, which should mature in October. 
Carol Dee
Garden Master
Very informative @Smart Red - interesting. But not going to try eating eat either.
Smart Red
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I'm with you there, Carol Dee! I like my corn with butter and salt, not with fungi.
digitS'
Garden Master
Let's not forget who has had Zea mays for 10,000 years ..
. and who has had it for 500, tops.
It still tickles me that Americans had to have Italian immigrants introduce us to the tomato
.
And, we have this idea of the frontiersman carrying his bag of maize seed west, so as to feed his family. Really, it was wheat. The frontiersman had his nefarious use for corn.
Steve
. and who has had it for 500, tops.
It still tickles me that Americans had to have Italian immigrants introduce us to the tomato
.And, we have this idea of the frontiersman carrying his bag of maize seed west, so as to feed his family. Really, it was wheat. The frontiersman had his nefarious use for corn.
Steve
