Corn Smut

Corn Smut

Could it possibly be true, are some farmers really profiting from smut? The answer would be yes, and that would be corn smut. A disease of corn caused by a plant fungus corn smut has caused grief for farmers here in the U.S. for years and millions of dollars have been spent trying get rid of it. That is until now. Scientists recently revealed that corn smut actually has nutritional value consisting of minerals and proteins not found anywhere else. Latin cultures have eaten corn smut for years considering it a delicacy, describing its flavor as earthy, woody, savory and sweet all at the same time; culinary descriptions most often used when discussing the taste of mushrooms. By persuading some organic farmers to allow the fungus to infect their corn crops, then harvest and sell it, scientists were able to determine that ears of corn having the fungus sell for nearly ten times the amount of regular ears of corn. While it still hasn't caught on with American farmers who regard it as a blight, high end restaurants and famous chefs are beginning to create a demand for it. The Latin name for corn smut, Huitlacoche, is hard to wrap your lips around so some restaurants have tried renaming it the Mexican Truffle.
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