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Granted, huitlacoche may look horrible. After all, it's a fungus that grows on corn. It's also known as Mexican truffles, corn mushrooms or “corn smut.” Wyoming chef Petrina Peart says the $50 per pound delicacy is hard to get but fun to try. (Cowboy State Daily Staff) Call them Mexican truffles, corn mushrooms or, if you’re a farmer, the much less appealing “corn smut.” Whatever you call this funky-looking fungus that grows on ears of corn, huitlacoche (pronounced wheat-la-KOH-chay) is a delicious, prized ingredient across Mexico that’s been catching on with gourmet chefs around the world. In Wyoming it’s much...

Have you ever gleefully walked into your garden, anxiously anticipating your early summer sweet-corn harvest, only to find that your ears have been replaced with a large, gray mass? Do not fret; this is a very common fungal plant pathogen called smut. Corn smut occurs most often on the ear, but also can show up on the stalk, leaves and even the tassel of corn plants. The large, gray tumor that replaces the corn kernels or even the entire ear of corn is the fungus’ fruiting body, which gives rise to its reproductive spores. When the fruiting body first develops,...

Huitlacoche is a fungus that consumes its host — corn — and transforms it into another food altogether. If you’ve never seen it before, it might be a startling sight. But look beyond the unfamiliar, and you’ll find a treat. In fact, for the past couple of weeks, a scrum of excited chefs has surrounded the McGrath Family Farms table at the Santa Monica farmers market due to the unexpected appearance of fresh huitlacoche (pronounced whee-tla-KOH-cheh), a fungus caused by ustilago maydis, which feeds on ears of corn. Called corn smut or Mexican truffle, the fungus is considered a delicacy...

A delicious novelty food with an ugly name Sharon OosthoekGreat minds do not think alike, and thatÂ’s why universities and colleges are the mother of inventions. Click here for the rest of our Bright Ideas series. Click here for the rest of our Campus Food series.Barry Saville: Trent UniversityBarry Saville has spent much of his career figuring out how to stop fungi from infecting food crops. But for the past three years, the Trent University professor has been deliberately infecting corn with a fungus that produces large, whitish-grey kernels he believes have potential as a niche product for market farmers....

IRAPUATO, Mexico (AP) -- It's now an established scientific fact: Smut is GOOD for you. Corn smut, that is. For years, scientists have assumed that huitlacoche (WEET-LA-KO-CHEE) - a gnarly, gray-black corn fungus long-savored in Mexico - had nutritional values similar to those of the corn on which it grew. But test results just published in the journal Food Chemistry reveal that an infection that U.S. farmers and crop scientists have spent millions trying to eradicate, is packed with unique proteins, minerals and other nutritional goodies. And here's a bonus: agro-economists have found it can sell for more than the...