Interesting Characteristics of Corn Smut

Status as a Delicacy

• Corn smut is prized for its delicious taste and high nutritional properties. Known as huitlacoche in Mexico, corn smut is packed with proteins and minerals. While corn has low amount of the amino acid lysine, corn smut is pack with this essential amino acid that aids in bone development. In addition, people find that corn smut imparts a nutty, sweet flavor to dishes. Fine-dining establishments across the United States pay top dollar to purchase corn smut.

Different Names

• Numerous names have been given to corn smut in an attempt to capture the look of the fungal growth in a word. The Aztecs called corn smut "raven's excrement," according to the University of Wisconsin. Today, the culinary world is trying to rename corn smut "Mexican truffle." Both names are trying to describe corn smut's smoky-gray appearance, which grows as a bulbous mass of fungal spores. These fungal spores eventually take on a greasy, blackish appearance as the disease covers the corn.

Cause of Infection

• Corn smut enters stalks of corn after wounds have been made during cultivation. Hail during cultivation wounds corn stalks and creates the perfect entryway for fungal spores. Also, cultivating equipment transports corn smut fungal spores to healthy plants. Gardeners who want to grow healthy crops should sterilize their tools and examine plants before cultivation. However, since corn smut is fast becoming a cash crop, some gardeners strive to grow infected plants.

Deliberate Cultivation

• Home gardeners have begun propagating corn smut to meet consumer demands. The Huitlacoche Project in Madison, Wisconsin, is one such example. Indeed, as of 2011, corn smut was selling for as high as $1.45 per pound. Because corn smut sells as such a high price, some farmers have infected their crops with the disease as a way of growing a more profitable crop than uninfected corn.