Cuitlacoche, a delicacy in Mexican cuisine

I know, you are thinking, what the heck is Cuitlacoche or Huitlacoche?  Well, it's a corn fungus found on the corn usually during the rainy season or on crops that have been irrigated.  You will find it growing right on the corn kernels, bulging out of its husk, each pocket encased in a silvery-gray skin but inside this pocket, is a fibrous black flesh.  These pockets, mushroom-like growths, are called galls. 

Pronounced "weet-la-COH-cheh, it is also known as corn smut and often referred to as the Mexican truffle and is considered a delicacy in Mexico.   It has a rather pungent, earthy flavor with overtones of mushrooms and corn.  

Cuitlacoche dates back to the Aztecs, even pre-columbian times.  The name comes from Nahyatl words cuitlatl (excrement) and cochtli (asleep).  It has one of the highest protein contents of the mushroom family and more protein than corn.  It is also high in amino acid lysine which is a building block of protein and used to make medicine, known to improve athletic performance, good for ones kidneys and preventing cold sores.  I guess the ancient Aztecs knew what they were doing.

Ideally it is best to buy it still attached to the corn cob, but often it is sold in the markets in Mexico already removed from the cob.  It is quite perishable, so best used immediately.  Fresh cuitlacoche does freeze well and can last about six months.  It is available canned in the US, brands like San Marcos, La Costena, Goya...  Ideally, fresh cuitlacoche is the way to go.

Cuitlacoche is used in soups, tacos, crepes, tamales and bodines.  When dried, it is used in a very different mole in Tlaxala, in the state of Oaxaca.  If you have Diana Kennedy's The Art and Essentials cookbook, you will find many of her recipes using cuitlacoche.  

I like to saute a bit of onion and garlic in olive oil and then add chopped cuitlacoche and cook over medium heat for about ten minutes.  Don't be afraid to add some salt.  My favorite is to make quesadillas with this cuitlacoche mixture along with queso Chihuahua.  If Chihuahua cheese is not available, a mix of Cheddar and Monterrey makes for a good substitution.  

There is one restaurant in San Miguel de Allende, Tacos Don Felix, that has been making quesadillas cuitlacohe for as long as I can remember.  Las Mercedes in Guanajuato also uses cuitlacoche in a few of their dishes, especially in their mini chalupas.  It is definitely worth a visit to either one of these restaurants to try this unusual delicacy.  I take my groups to both these restaurants when I am leading my San Miguel de Allende tours and I love introducing them to this unusual dish.

In the market in Oaxaca, this lady had a beautiful basket full of fresh cuitlacoche, not to mention the gorgeous, long stemmed Calla Lilies for sale.
When there's a fungus amongst us, try it!   
Buen Provecho.