When confronted with the notion that Mexican dishes are just constantly rearranged combinations of the same ingredients of tomatoes, chili peppers, corn, and meat, the best way to counter is by bringing up Huitlacoche (pronounced wee-tla-coche). It's by far not the only one, as Mexico abounds in unusual delicacies, but it is probably one of the most common ones. Huitlacoche is a mold infecting the maize plant, turning its kernels soft and spongy, while blowing them up into weird, puffy, sickly looking balloons, before they have a chance to develop fully. The black color of the mold doesn't help much either in giving it any visual appeal, and thus in most parts of the world this fungus is treated as an annoying pest befalling a good crop of corn.
Not so in Mexico!
Thanks to the pre-hispanic tradition, huitlacoche is appreciated for its nutritional value and its earthy taste. The presence of the mold improves the protein content of the corn, especially that of lysine, which unaffected maize has very little of. The taste can be compared to that of mushrooms: slightly sweet, but more savory, earthy, but mostly mild flavor. So while some farmers rejoice at the sight of this fungus infecting some of their corn, others may actually spread the spores intentionally, since huitlacoche greatly increases its value. The fact that despite of its many benefits we're still dealing with a black mold, can be seen in the fatalistic Mexican proverb: “There is no cornfield without huitlacoche, and no party without a jerk.”
So Where Can You Try This Specialty?
It's really not too hard to find huitlacoche in Mexico. Any decent market should have a couple of vendors selling it. Sometimes you can even come across it in supermarkets. For those of us who are not familiar with it, it's more preferable to try it already prepared. Mexican restaurants should be ideal for this, though the easiest and most common place to enjoy huitlacoche are quesadilla stands.
Quesadillas, but without Cheese!
Here, let me go on a little tangent regarding the quesadilla. One of the most common misconceptions is that a quesadilla must have queso, that is cheese. In the case of huitlacoche, however, the flavor of cheese is so dominant that it would completely overshadow that of the corn fungus, which is why it's usually prepared without cheese. The kernels of the infected corn are cooked while still soft and moist, until the color turns from dark blue to pitch black. This dark paste is filled into a folded tortilla, and either toasted on a hot-plate called comal, or deep-fried in oil.
Chilaquiles of Huitlacoche
What tastes delicious, however, can usually be added to other recipes, such as that of chilaquiles, for example. The salsa used for this has the typical base of chili peppers, tomatoes, and onion, but has the huitlacoche added for additional flavor. The result is a black, deeply flavorful sauce, making an excellent topping to the fried tortillas. One interesting side effect of this tasty fungus, which can cause reactions of laughter to panic, is that it turns your tongue and teeth black! No worries, though, it won't last very long. The next sip on your horchata should wash it all down.
