Tom:
>just yesterday I saw something new (to me) in the market: "fungus corn".
>The corn looked like regular sweet corn, except that there was a large
>fungus patch covering a large area on the lower half of the corn. The
>fungus was gray, and up to 2 cm high. According to a woman at the market,
>fungus corn is a delicacy in Mexican cuisine.

>personal experience with fungus corn (raw or cooked).

Sheila: I attended  a lecture a few years ago sponsored by the Tucson Herb
Coalition. The topic was corn smut. The lecturer brought samples that he
bought at the local supermarket...it was canned like tuna. Apparently, it
was worshiped by some of the northern Arizona tribes. They had a 'corn
smut' kachina, a female goddes figure, and had poetry about her and the
corn smut. It tasted great and wierd..
Kevin Dahl from the Native Seed/Search and Arizona - Sonora Desert Museum
has a book, Wild Foods of the Sonoran Desert, and includes a passage on it.
Maize Mushrooms, Corn Smut
If you decide to grow one of the native corn varieties you might discover a
strange-looking fungus on some ears. Corn smut, considered a pest by modern
farmers, is common on native corn. A relished treat, its nutrition
complements that of corn, making a more complete protein. It tastes like a
cross between mushroom and corn and is delicious as a steamed vegetable or
sauteed and used as a filling for tacos (!) Popular in southern Mexico
where it is called huitlacoche, a few fancy restaurants are introducing it
to the American cuisine under a new name: maize mushroom.
It most likely goes back earlier than the Aztecs and they used it.
If you would like to grow some and have a party, the seeds can be purchased
from Native Seeds/Search (seed source)
http://desert.net/seeds/home.htm.

Related organizations:
Arizona - Sonoran Desert Museum
http://desert.net/museum/exhibits.htmlx
Arizona Native Plant Society
http://www.azstarnet.com/~anps/

Kind Regards,
Sheila Shea
http://www.sheilas.com
http://listserv.azstarnet.com/cgi-bin/lwgate/INTEST_HEALTH/