Angeka On The Farm

CREATING A RURAL LIFE.

Holy Tamale.

Posted on July 21, 2008 - Filed Under Uncategorized

I was very upset the other day when I went out to check the progress of our sweet corn. Several of the ears of corn had burst open with these purplish/black, swollen alien-looking pods attached. I opened up some still-closed ears and found the same.

corn smut

I jumped online to research the blight that had struck my corn: Corn Smut. Ew! But after looking at a few more sites on the subject, I found another name in Spanish: Huitlacoche. Turns out, if you’re American, it’s disaster and you throw out your corn. If you’re Mexican, you grow it this way on purpose for this delicacy called the Mexican Truffle!

Preferring not to have a crop (really, only 3 rows of corn) failure on my hands and considering the Mexican population in our area, I’m going with the whole Mexican Truffle idea. From what I’ve seen online, people want it, buy it, search it out and eat it in tamales, soup, eggs, stuffed in chicken. You can find it canned, frozen and fresh (preferred, but hardest to obtain, unless you’re us). Apparently it happens when the corn kernels get too much water combined with high temperatures. They then absorb all the water, expand, turn fungal, purpley and supposedly delicious. Though I’m guessing it’s an acquired taste by the looks of it.

So I bagged what I picked, stuffed it in the fridge and am working up the stomach to cook it. My father-in-law (who’s visiting) is beside himself and thinks I’m going to poison myself and others. My mother-in-law thinks it’s hysterical. I’m elated to find what I thought was a bust being a boon. My guess is Mexicans did the same when this happened to their corn: “Well, it’s a staple…we’ve got a lot of it…gotta eat something…you try it…I’m not gonna try it…you try it…let’s get Miguel, he’ll eat anything…hey, he likes it, hey Miguel!” Or something like that. And if we don’t like it, I’m sure we can sell it to someone who does. This is how it should always work.

Comments

3 Responses to “Holy Tamale.”

  1. Mom on July 22nd, 2008 6:23 am

    Here’s hoping it tastes better than it looks…

  2. Dianna on July 22nd, 2008 6:50 am

    Angela, yes! yes! yes! This stuff rocks. Are you familiar with the restaurant Eduardo de San Angel on Comercial Blvd. They have an unbelievable Ancho chile flavored crepe filled with Huitlacoche, serano chiles and onion topped with asadere cheese and squash blossom sauce. (www.eduardodesanangel.com)
    Keep us posted.

  3. Brenda on August 20th, 2008 6:25 pm

    so — how did it turn out? gourmet or gross?

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