Corn Smut is quite a delicacy!

Sweet corn is a tremendous treat.  I especially like the Sugary Enhanced (SE) varieties created by Dave Gallinat of Mesa Maize in Olathe, Colorado. Many of his hybrids are sold as 'Olathe Sweet' sweet corn throughout the United States.  I even took some of his seed to Armenia when I worked over there in 1994.  The Armenians were definitely impressed with the sweet ears his seed produced.

Sometimes you get a bonus when corn smut develops along with the ear.  The smut balls growing out of the ear of corn Susan Rose, Horticulture Educator for our four-county area, is about to take a bite out of arrived in our office this afternoon. As far as I'm concerned this smut has already gone beyond what I would consider the edible stage.  Others disagree as they like the more mature smut flavor.

Four to five hundred tons of this fungus are sold in Mexico City every year.  In the United States, increased interest in this fungus is due to an increase in the Mexican-American community and the rising interest in new foods. Chefs in high-end restaurants are reported to pay $30 to $40 for 2 pounds of this mushroom.


Caused by the fungus Ustilago maydis, corn smut, is called huitlacoche by those in the know.  Like puffballs, the gleba, the inner spore bearing mass, is initaily nice and white, turning into black spores as seen  with the smut ball on the left side of this photo.  That smut ball has broken open releasing black spores.

Even small backyard producers may find the production of huitlacoche profitable.  If you are interested, check out Purdue University's article on how to  produce this unusual agricultural product.