Corn Smut (huitlacoche)

So I was clearing up all the unpicked sweetcorn and imagine my surprise when I found some of this stuff! I didn't know we even had it in the country. (a quick google told me it's fairly common on fodder maize here)

I'm reading conflicting information on weather older smut is good to eat or if it needs to be still soft. But that's not my main interest what I want to know is can I let this mature and freeze the spores to deliberatly infect some corn next year? This infection almost certainly came from the acres of fodder maize upwind of me since my field hasn't ever had corn on it.

The harder it is, the less palatable it will be when cooked.
To keep some for inoculation next year, first dry it out then store in either a glass canning jar or freezer plastic zip bag.
Freezing it will kill most of the spores since it normally over winters in the soil where it is surrounded by insulating particles of soil.

Redhawk

very tasty stuff.

I prefer to eat huitlacoche while it is still gray and firm inside.  It becomes unpalatable to me once the inside gets soft and turns black.

I haven't had good success with intentional inoculation. A little grows every year in my corn patch, but rarely on the plants that were inoculated.

Aztecs used to, & possibly still do, rub their machete's in the dirt & then make shallow cuts in the growing corn stalk to inoculate. Spores are likely present on & in the soil around plants with fruiting huitlacoche.

If it infects fodder corn it makes me want to breed it up to do some "guerrilla sporing" across the Midwest.   Seems like justice to fight back against the drifting GMO genetics and "property theft" lawsuits to inoculate them with this gross looking Aztec delicacy.

It is also interesting to note that this may have been a fungal component to the famous 3 sisters guild.  

Huitlacoche is already widespread anywhere/everywhere that corn is grown. No worries about infecting the mega-fields. They are already infected, and therefore growing strains of corn that are essentially immune. I've done a fair amount of inoculation with huitlacoche spores, and I can never tell if my inoculations were effective or not. (As a plant breeder, I spent a lot of effort selecting against strains that are susceptible. As a fungi-foodie, I would want to select for strains of corn that are susceptible. )

I found this thing on my corn! And I'm having foodie guests over, so this popped up right in time when I was looking for food to impress them with ;)

I'm not sure if mine is ready for harvest or too fresh or too old... and it's growing on the stem, not on the ear. But I need it in two days and a heavy storm is coming, so I'll leave it on the plant as it seems to be a better idea than harvesting it now and keeping it in the fridge... then I'm planning to fry it with butter and serve with some rice and who knows what.

Maybe there will be some more after tonights' storms?

Update: The alien looking one is turning dark inside and starts to crack, and the other one is just growing a little bigger. I will leave them on the plant because I don't have the time to handle them anyway, so my plan is to collect them on Sunday morning. Corn is so weird!

I would pick those now rather than wait until Sunday. In my experience they don't hold well in the field. Chop them up and saute - it will hardly take any time to prepare. The one that is turning a bit black is still quite edible now but another day and it won't be.

So, I enjoy foraging for any edible mushroom I can eat.  However, I grew up with such disdain for this fungus since I enjoy good sweet corn more, lol.  For those of you that eat it and like it, can you give those of us willing to go outside our comfort zones a bit, some step by step instructions on how to best prepare it from the beginning?  Some fungi will regrow if not all of it is cut off.  Has anyone tried leaving the cob on the plant, cutting off the smut, then seeing if it will grow more?  I've always removed the ear from the garden site as if it were an infectious pest, as that is what my father & grandfather taught us.  Maybe you'll change my mind?

David Arora in his amazing book, , adapts a recipe by Diana Kennedy, who wrote , for Cuitlacoche Filling (for quesadillas or crepes). Here is the wonderful recipe:

“Cut the fungus and corn kernels from the cob, keeping them as whole as whole as possible to preserve their texture. Roughly chop the fungus and weigh out 1 1/2 lbs (about 6 cups). Also char and peel 4 chiles poblanos [4 Hatch chiles are also perfect] remove the seeds and [slice] vertically into 1/2” strips.
Heat 3 T. safflower oil in a frying pan, add 2 T. finely chopped white onion and 2 small garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped. Fry until translucent — about 3 minutes. Add the chiles and fry for another minute. Then add the cuitlacoche and salt to taste, cover the pan, and cook over medium heat, shaking occasionally, for about 15 minutes. The smut should be tender and moist but not soft and mushy. (If too dry, sprinkle on 1/4 cup water before covering; if too juicy, remove lid to drive off excess moisture.) Finally, stir in 2 T. chopped epazote … leaves and cook uncovered, for another 2 minutes.”