This item ships only to Kansas
Because of federal laws which restrict the growing of food, it is illegal to ship huitlacoche spores over state lines. Please do not attempt to purchase these spores unless your shipping address is within the state of Kansas, thank you!
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I am selling only the dry spores.
Huitlacoche, also known as corn smut, cuitlacoche, corn mushroom, and Mexican truffle, is a fungus that grows on corn plants and is considered a culinary delicacy. When the fungus grows in a corn plant it causes the kernels of the ears to swell into mushroom-like growths called galls.
Huitlacoche dates back to the Aztecs who enjoyed the naturally occurring corn fungus as part of their diet and is well known in Mexican cuisine.
I cleaned these spores by sifting them through a very fine screen. Spores are microscopic so a tiny quantity of what looks like powder contains billions of spores. The spores can remain viable for many years but will store best in a cool dry place and kept from direct sunlight.
One online source describes huitlacoche like this: “Its flavor can be characterized as deeply earthy, but not in the cliché sense in which most fungi are often described. This ingredient has a wonderful smokiness to it, with subtle notes of sweetness coming from the corn’s sugars. Its flavor profile lingers between the nuttiness of black truffle and the savoriness of morels. Its texture, when cooked, is a soft chew that forms from the corn’s soluble fibers.”
Online sources also describe the nutritional content as superior to corn: “Interestingly, huitlacoche has one of the highest protein contents of all the mushroom family and more protein than corn itself. In addition, the fungus is very high in the amino acid lysine, which is almost nonexistent in corn.”
To grow huitlacoche a corn plant needs to be inoculated before the ears are fully developed which can be done in many ways. An easy method is to use a knife to cut into the stalk of a plant and apply spores to the cut area. A convenient method of applying spores is add them to a jar with unchlorinated water (rainwater works well), shake the jar until mixed and then use a paintbrush or a spray bottle to wet a cut area of the corn plant. A syringe can also be used to inject spores into the plant, or small developing ears. It takes at least 2 weeks from inoculating the plant for the huitlacoche to grow on the ears, and the best success is achieved by preventing the ears from pollinating by de-tasseling the top of the corn plant and by cutting the silk off the ears.
I don’t have any other growing advice but suggest doing your own research online to decide what method of growing will work best for you.
