Cuitlacoche: edible galls of Ustilago maydis
Cuitlacoche (or huitlacoche) is the native Mexican name given to young, edible galls that form when ears of corn are infected by Ustilago maydis.
In central Mexico, cuitlacoche is a highly prized delicacy that has been eaten since Pre-Columbian times.
Traditional maize growers gather and market cuitlacoche following natural infection. About 400 to 500 tons of cuitlacoche are sold annually during July and August at markets in Mexico City. More than 100 tons are processed by companies that sell the specialty mushroom canned or lyophilized.
Concurrent with an expanding market in the U. S. for other types of specialty mushrooms such as Pleurotus (oyster), Lentinula (shiitake), Flammulina (enoki) and Morchella (morel), epicureans in North America increasingly view cuitlacoche as a gourmet fungus that is part of a growing market for haute Mexican cuisine.
Cuitlacoche is served in soups, appetizers and entrees at many fashionable Mexican restaurants in major metropolitan areas in the United States, such as Topolobampo in Chicago and Rosa Mexicano in New York City and Washington DC.
Recipes for cuitlacoche are available on the internet and in gourmet Mexican cookbooks, such as Rick Bayless’s Mexican Kitchen and Diana Kennedy’s The Art of Mexican Cooking. Canned cuitlacoche is sold on the internet and sometimes is referred to as “maize mushrooms” or “Mexican truffles”. Fresh or frozen cuitlacoche occasionally is available at farmers’ markets or from local suppliers in the U.S.
Methods to cultivate cuitlacoche as a cash crop and various other aspects of cuitlacoche production systems have been studied in the U.S. and Mexico during the past 15 years. Essential aspects of efficient cultivation of cuitlacoche include: efficient methods of inoculation, rates of gall enlargement and teliospore formation, optimal times for inoculation and harvest, production practices that optimize infection, gall size, and yield, and, possibly most important, proper post-harvest handling and marketing.
