• Menu
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Before Header

  • About Us
  • Lexicon
  • Contact Us
  • Our Store
  • ↑
  • ↓
  • ←
  • →

Balloon Juice

Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

“woke” is the new caravan.

Republicans do not trust women.

There is no right way to do the wrong thing.

Nancy smash is sick of your bullshit.

Within six months Twitter will be fully self-driving.

I might just take the rest of the day off and do even more nothing than usual.

You passed on an opportunity to be offended? What are you even doing here?

They think we are photo bombing their nice little lives.

Trumpflation is an intolerable hardship for every American, and it’s Trump’s fault.

You can’t attract Republican voters. You can only out organize them.

Putin must be throwing ketchup at the walls.

The press swings at every pitch, we don’t have to.

Disagreements are healthy; personal attacks are not.

“But what about the lurkers?”

“The defense has a certain level of trust in defendant that the government does not.”

Let me eat cake. The rest of you could stand to lose some weight, frankly.

the 10% who apparently lack object permanence

“Just close your eyes and kiss the girl and go where the tilt-a-whirl takes you.” ~OzarkHillbilly

Second rate reporter says what?

You cannot shame the shameless.

You are so fucked. Still, I wish you the best of luck.

Republicans are radicals, not conservatives.

Celebrate the fucking wins.

“Perhaps I should have considered other options.” (head-desk)

Mobile Menu

  • Seattle Meet-up Post
  • 2025 Activism
  • Targeted Political Fundraising
  • Donate with Venmo, Zelle & PayPal
  • Site Feedback
  • War in Ukraine
  • Submit Photos to On the Road
  • Politics
  • On The Road
  • Open Threads
  • Topics
  • COVID-19
  • Authors
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Lexicon
  • Our Store
  • Politics
  • Open Threads
  • 2025 Activism
  • Garden Chats
  • On The Road
  • Targeted Fundraising!
You are here: Home / Food & Recipes / Food / The Mexican Truffle

The Mexican Truffle

by @heymistermix.com|  August 18, 20116:58 am| 33 Comments

This post is in: Food

FacebookTweetEmail

Things I learned from the Internet: corn smut, called huitlacoche, is considered a delicacy. The Wikipedia etymology section is worth a read, too.

FacebookTweetEmail
Previous Post: « Thursday Morning Open Thread
Next Post: Even-Keeled Progressive »

Reader Interactions

33Comments

  1. 1.

    forked tongue

    August 18, 2011 at 7:21 am

    That stuff is GREAT.

  2. 2.

    gnomedad

    August 18, 2011 at 7:26 am

    Tom Lehrer: Smut

  3. 3.

    SiubhanDuinne

    August 18, 2011 at 7:27 am

    You came across that while you were googling “smut,” didn’t you?

  4. 4.

    KnaveRupe

    August 18, 2011 at 7:45 am

    Go check out the segment on huitlacoche in Volume 7 of “Steve, Don’t Eat It!” at thesneeze.com

  5. 5.

    Robin G.

    August 18, 2011 at 7:51 am

    That put me off my breakfast. Reminds me of the STD photos they used to pass around in health class

  6. 6.

    p.a.

    August 18, 2011 at 7:52 am

    c-c-c-can not re-re-sist…i consider all smut a delicacy.
    aaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhh………..

  7. 7.

    Alwhite

    August 18, 2011 at 7:57 am

    20-25 years ago we had this stuff on the corn in our garden. It turns a beautiful shade of blue/purple (not appetizing but beautiful). About 5 years after that was the first I read about its uses as a food. I am not sure that even had I know this was eatable I would have tried it. I’d like to taste it but thats a hurdle to jump past getting over what it looks like.

  8. 8.

    Keith

    August 18, 2011 at 7:59 am

    I have a couple of cans of it in my pantry, but I haven’t had the guts to make anything with it yet (I was originally going to make huitlacoche tamales)

  9. 9.

    Albatrossity

    August 18, 2011 at 8:00 am

    I have an omelet made with huitlacoche in Veracruz once. It was delicious. I’m glad that the chef knew how to use it, ‘cuz I’m not sure I would look at that picture and think “Wow, that would be great in an omelet!”

  10. 10.

    RossInDetroit

    August 18, 2011 at 8:01 am

    I posted a link to a comic piece about this fungus but it disappeared. Perhaps it will return. If not, said humorous item can be found by googling

    Steve Don’t Eat it huitlacoche

    It’s worth a look.

  11. 11.

    OldDave

    August 18, 2011 at 8:05 am

    @RossInDetroit: I tried posting the same link – it’s apparently caught in moderation hell. The Steve Don’t Eat It blog posts are classic.

  12. 12.

    Thoughtful Black Co-Citizen

    August 18, 2011 at 8:09 am

    Um. Yeah. I hunt and eat morels every year, but even I would think long and hard before I chowed down on that particular fungus.

    However, the fact that they’re shown dangling tumor-like from the ear of corn really ups the None for me, thanks, factor.

  13. 13.

    Walizonia

    August 18, 2011 at 8:10 am

    That just looks wrong.

  14. 14.

    harlana

    August 18, 2011 at 8:12 am

    it’s just a shroom growing out of an ear of corn instead of the ground, do not be afraid

  15. 15.

    RossInDetroit

    August 18, 2011 at 8:15 am

    @OldDave:

    Steve Don’t Eat it is indeed classic. I particularly love his review of natto – fermented soybeans. A snippet:

    I remembered hearing about this stuff on Iron Chef one time when it was the secret ingredient. The judges in the show were commenting on what a great job the chefs had done to “supress the smell” of the natto. I’m no Iron Chef, but I’ve got a clever way to supress the smell. Don’t put it in your fucking food. I might not win “Battle Natto,” but I promise you my dinner won’t smell like stank-ass soybeans. I found it slightly unsettling that the sealed styrofoam container had creepy little airholes in it. As if what was inside needed to breathe. I dared to lift the lid, which made me regret that I needed to breathe. The natto was coated in some kind of sick slime and had the complex yet playful aroma of a dumpster in July.

  16. 16.

    Ken

    August 18, 2011 at 8:41 am

    You have to admire those of our ancestors who discovered this stuff is edible. And truffles, morels, bleu cheese, rhubarb stalks, yogurt, oysters, asparagus, wine, okra…

    And let us have a moment of silence for those who discovered that the Death Cap mushroom, asparagus berries, rhubarb leaves, holly berries, foxglove… are not edible – whether they became our ancestors or not.

  17. 17.

    Violet

    August 18, 2011 at 8:53 am

    I was underwhelmed when I tried it. It wasn’t bad or anything, but I didn’t get the delicacy part. It was just okay. Probably depends how it’s prepared. I had it in an appetizer at a Mexican restaurant. Nothing special.

  18. 18.

    BethanyAnne

    August 18, 2011 at 9:01 am

    I ain’t googlin “corn smut”. Nope. ;-)

  19. 19.

    mistermix

    August 18, 2011 at 9:27 am

    @KnaveRupe: I pulled this out of the spam filter – don’t know why it got marked.

  20. 20.

    Threadkiller

    August 18, 2011 at 9:30 am

    Delicious stuff, in omelets, tamales and crepes.

    Hell’s Kitchen in NYC has a huitlachoche crepe that is to die for.

  21. 21.

    scav

    August 18, 2011 at 9:51 am

    Tom Leher in 2. Gotta admire the crowd here.

    Huitachoche? Had it at least once and although I’ve lost the neuron that indicated exactly where on the pleasant to outstanding range it fell, I can confirm it provides simply hours of amusement when you look for more of it in markets.

    And in the list of improbable foods, I humbly add: the artichoke. Explain that one.

  22. 22.

    daveNYC

    August 18, 2011 at 10:13 am

    Eh, not a huge fan. There’s a bodega over in Hell’s Kitchen (10th Ave) that does tacos and whatnot out of the back. Goofy as hell. Back to the point though, I had some stuff with it there and it was just kind of a strong mushroom. Nothing bad, just not worth making a fuss over.

    Um. Yeah. I hunt and eat morels every year, but even I would think long and hard before I chowed down on that particular fungus.

    Now morels are something worth making a fuss over.

  23. 23.

    artem1s

    August 18, 2011 at 10:45 am

    with the amount of rain we’ve had in NE OH this summer I’m surprised the whole state hasn’t been absorbed by a giant smut ball. of course, smut brain may be the cause of King John’s delusional thinking about SB5.

  24. 24.

    Hal

    August 18, 2011 at 10:49 am

    Why do I feel like running Tinactin all over my eyeballs?

  25. 25.

    Michele

    August 18, 2011 at 11:27 am

    It is delicious, but honestly it tastes just like a really good mushroom. However, a really good mushroom is a good thing, and it makes omelets, quesadillas, etc., taste so good. It’s not morels, though.

  26. 26.

    Ken

    August 18, 2011 at 12:16 pm

    @scav: I always figured that famine had a lot to do with these discoveries. If you read about the siege of Leningrad, for example, you’ll learn recipes for all sorts of things you wouldn’t think edible (not that some were anything but filling). There are also a number of foods that are poisonous unless prepared in just the right way (taro and fugu for example), so someone was pretty desperate.

  27. 27.

    The Other Chuck

    August 18, 2011 at 1:08 pm

    This is what happens to those delicate cobs after a career in cornography.

  28. 28.

    Paul in KY

    August 18, 2011 at 1:26 pm

    @KnaveRupe: If I’m gonna eat that stuff, I’m gonna eat it fresh & not out of a can.

  29. 29.

    Paul in KY

    August 18, 2011 at 1:28 pm

    @Ken: Starving will make you quite experimental when it comes to trying out stuff to see if you can eat it or not.

  30. 30.

    Ripley

    August 18, 2011 at 1:38 pm

    Has somebody let Kortney know about this stuff?

  31. 31.

    jl

    August 18, 2011 at 2:05 pm

    @harlana:

    I never thought of it that way. Just ‘shrooms, huh? So… what happens if you dry it and smoke it?

    As commenters above have said, it is good if fresh and mixed with eggs and and nopales.

    The preserved versions in cans and jars, not so good, but it tastes OK, but the visual aspect is not OK.

  32. 32.

    Earl in CA

    August 18, 2011 at 3:11 pm

    @Violet: me too. living on the central coast of CA allows me to pick porcini’s chantrelles, agaricus varieties, and random fungas like cauliflower and shrimp russalas.

    corn smut just isn’t that good when compared to other edibles.

  33. 33.

    Sko Hayes

    August 18, 2011 at 4:58 pm

    @KnaveRupe: Okay, I went there. Those pictures have assured me that I will never try anything that looks like it’s been rotting in a pile of cow shit for two years. Especially when it comes out of a can like that.
    This might make a great gag (literally) gift for my brother’s birthday, though.

Comments are closed.

Primary Sidebar

On The Road - PaulB - Olympic Peninsula: Lake Quinault Loop Drive 5
Image by PaulB (5/19/25)

Recent Comments

  • Redshift on Medicaid cuts approved in the House (May 19, 2025 @ 1:30pm)
  • sab on Monday Morning Open Thread: Another Week (May 19, 2025 @ 1:28pm)
  • trollhattan on Monday Morning Open Thread: Another Week (May 19, 2025 @ 1:27pm)
  • Melancholy Jaques on Monday Morning Open Thread: Another Week (May 19, 2025 @ 1:27pm)
  • sab on Monday Morning Open Thread: Another Week (May 19, 2025 @ 1:26pm)

PA Supreme Court At Risk

Donate

Balloon Juice Posts

View by Topic
View by Author
View by Month & Year
View by Past Author

Featuring

Medium Cool
Artists in Our Midst
Authors in Our Midst
War in Ukraine
Donate to Razom for Ukraine

🎈Keep Balloon Juice Ad Free

Become a Balloon Juice Patreon
Donate with Venmo, Zelle or PayPal

Meetups

Upcoming Ohio Meetup May 17
5/11 Post about the May 17 Ohio Meetup

Calling All Jackals

Site Feedback
Nominate a Rotating Tag
Submit Photos to On the Road
Balloon Juice Anniversary (All Links)
Balloon Juice Anniversary (All Posts)
Fix Nyms with Apostrophes

Hands Off! – Denver, San Diego & Austin

Social Media

Balloon Juice
WaterGirl
TaMara
John Cole
DougJ (aka NYT Pitchbot)
Betty Cracker
Tom Levenson
David Anderson
Major Major Major Major
DougJ NYT Pitchbot
mistermix

Keeping Track

Legal Challenges (Lawfare)
Republicans Fleeing Town Halls (TPM)
21 Letters (to Borrow or Steal)
Search Donations from a Brand

PA Supreme Court At Risk

Donate

Site Footer

Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

  • Facebook
  • RSS
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Comment Policy
  • Our Authors
  • Blogroll
  • Our Artists
  • Privacy Policy

Copyright © 2025 Dev Balloon Juice · All Rights Reserved · Powered by BizBudding Inc

Share this ArticleLike this article? Email it to a friend!

Email sent!