Exciting and delicious: do you know huitlacoche yet?

We love gathering culinary knowledge and fun facts, and recently we stumbled upon something truly special. Chances are you’ve never heard of it, and although it doesn’t look particularly appealing at first glance, many consider it a real delicacy: say hello to huitlacoche.

When we say ‘corn smut’, do you immediately think ‘yay, that’s going to be delicious’? Or do you think instead of a festering skin disease that probably makes you feel like you’re on fire? Don’t worry, it’s not the latter. Let’s stick to the very chic original name ‘huitlacoche’, and no one would bat an eyelid if it appeared on a menu.

What is huitlacoche?

Huitlacoche is pronounced ‘weet-la-kó-cheh’, and you may also come across it as ‘cuitlacoche’. It is a special ingredient from Mexico, where it was already eaten and appreciated in Aztec times. It is an edible fungal growth on young ears of corn, and if you have ever grown corn in a vegetable garden, you may have come across it. Perhaps you threw away the entire cob with its grayish lumps in fright, but after doing some research, we can tell you that next time you should happily toss these fungi into the pan!

You do have to catch them in time, though, and cut off and prepare the fungal growth (which looks like large, irregular grayish corn kernels) while it is still gray and intact. If you leave it too long, it turns black and can burst open, making it no longer edible. And if the word fungus puts you off, just think of it as a sort of corn mushroom.

How to prepare huitlacoche

The easiest way is to stand the cobs upright on a large cutting board and slice the huitlacoche off from top to bottom with a sharp knife. In principle, you could eat it raw, but it is best to fry it briefly over high heat, just like mushrooms, with flavorings such as onion, garlic, salt and pepper. Naturally, you can add any herbs you like. In Mexico, huitlachoche is used as a filling for tacos and quesadillas, but you could also simply eat it on toast.

Try it soon

If this has made you very curious but you can’t see yourself standing around with a freshly and cheerfully moldy ear of corn in your hands anytime soon, you can order canned huitlacoche online from Tjin’s Toko, one of the nicest supermarkets for international products. Drain it well, then prepare it the way you would fry mushrooms.

Also read:

• 7x Mexican dishes they don’t eat in Mexico at all
• At the new Fiona on the Wallen, you can enjoy truly Mexican food
• Recipe for Mexican fish to­sta­da’s like my American mother makes them