Fungus, Mexican truffle, or Mexican caviar — these are just a few aliases of huitlacoche. But what exactly is this soft, spreadable, dark-as-night ingredient? In simple terms, it's a parasitic plant disease that grows on ears of corn, around the kernels, in puffy gray clouds resembling river stones.
What Is Huitlacoche And How Do You Cook It? - Food Republic
Also known as cuitlacoche, huitlacoche is a sporous fungus that feeds off corn before its ears fully develop. The contagion is usually brought forth by annual rainy seasons and results in...
What Is Huitlacoche and Why Don’t Americans Eat More Of It? | Eater
Huitlacoche, sometimes called a "corn mushroom," falls squarely into that category. It grows on ears of corn when the plant is exposed to moisture and warmth, and while it may be classified as a crop disease in some places, in Mexican culinary tradition, it's anything but unwanted.
What Exactly Is Huitlacoche And Is It Safe To Eat? - The Takeout
Huitlacoche is a source of the essential amino acid lysine, which the body requires but cannot manufacture. It also contains levels of beta-glucans similar to, and protein content equal or superior to, most edible fungi.
Huitlacoche appears when corn kernels are damaged, and that usually happens during the rainy season, when wet weather and wind inflict small injuries to the corn. Now, however, farmers often...
Huitlacoche, pronounced weet-la-COH-cheh, is a fungus that grows on ears of corn. It is also known as cuitlacoche, corn smut, and Mexican truffle. It is a plant disease that causes smut –multicellular fungi with many spores – to grow on maize and is a delicacy in Mexico.