Huitlacoche

Huitlacoche, also known as corn smut, is a fungus that grows inside the ears of corn and is a common ingredient in Mexican cuisine. The fungus usually enters the plant through the ovaries (young immature kernels) where it starts to grow large, distorted, mushroom-like tumors in place of where the kernels grow. In recent years the shroom has been hyped up in the US culinary world, where its been given the name Mexican Truffle.

A couple years ago my friend Kevin introduced it to me and I had it once or twice in restaurants, but it always seemed overpowered or in too little quantity for me to really get a sense for what it’s all about. Saturday night I ordered a huitlocoche quesadilla from a street vendor, a sweet sweet mother and son team using really fresh ingredients. The filling, an inky black paste with a couple loose strands of corn silk, was earthy but extremely mild. I knew I had to cook with this ingredient myself to really understand it.

The next morning Ricardo took us to the Mercado San Juan, the Gourmet market. Every neighborhood has its own Mercado- a huge bustling indoor market with produce stands, butchers, florists, crafts, and diner-style food. The Mercado San Juan, which is a little expensive, carries things I haven’t seen in other mercados, let alone anywhere else ever. This is where I found huitlacoche. At one stand, a woman was selling the whole infected cob, with a window removed from the husk to show off the swollen grey mass. I settled for a cheaper vendor selling a pack for 20 pesos.


The texture of raw huitlacoche is nothing like any other mushroom. It seems to be more succulent, containing more water, possibly because the fungus matter is corn, enlarged diseased kernels, corn plant cells. At the same time the interior of these growths are dry, filled with dark powdery spores. The growths are smooth and brittle, but slightly tougher towards their base. One of the most unusual things about this product is its color. Light grey is rarely appetizing.

I knew the flavor of huitlacoche is delicate, when I tasted it raw it was virtually tasteless. I cooked it in a traditional way, chopping it small and sautéing in butter with onion and garlic. Towards the end I added a bit of chopped fresh epazote, a fairly strong herb used here in Mexico that has a wild flavor like tarragon crossed with gasoline. The huitlacoche seemed to take ten minutes of cooking to develop the right flavor, all the while turning a deeper black in color. It tasted slightly sweet and earthy like the mud on a fresh Maine clam. The most unusual thing about it was the balance of being so delicately flavored with the feeling of intense richness in the mouth.

In addition to the huitlacoche (by the way this translates as “raven shit”) I cooked some button mushrooms with adobo sauce. They were spooned onto delicate freshly hand made corn tortillas by PJ and topped with his avocado cream. Another sauce of chipotle-tomato brought the heat. There was also kale sautéed with cumin.

huitlacoche on the right

-Kenny