The US spent millions eradicating corn smut (huitlacoche). Now it's a fine-dining delicacy.
Huitlacoche, also known as the "Mexican truffle," is an edible fungus that forms on undeveloped corn ears and sells for as much as $40 a pound. Discovered by the Aztecs, the bulbous fungus has been consumed in Mexico for centuries and has recently become a popular specialty ingredient around the world. However, the US has dedicated significant time and money to keeping its cornfields free of what it calls "corn smut" and "the devil's corn." Huitlacoche forms naturally during the rainy season, but farmers can also inject the fungus into their cornfields to harvest the valuable "black gold." So, why has huitlacoche become so popular, and what exactly makes it so expensive?
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00:00 (upbeat music)
00:03 This gray, bulbous fungus has infected this ear of corn
00:08 and it's deliberate.
00:10 Infected corn can sell for 40 times more
00:14 than non-moldy ones.
00:15 Its official name is Wheat Lakotje.
00:19 But for years, American farmers called this infection
00:22 the devil's corn and corn smut
00:25 as it relentlessly destroyed crops and farming equipment.
00:29 Meanwhile, the fungus has been a local delicacy in Mexico
00:32 since the time of the Aztecs.
00:35 Now that even Michelin-starred restaurants
00:49 in the US are serving it,
00:51 the fungus has been elevated with names like Black Gold
00:54 and Mexican Truffle.
00:56 Its export price has doubled in the last three years,
00:59 going from $15 in 2020
01:03 to selling for just over $40 a pound today.
01:07 So is infecting corn crops paying off for Mexican farmers?
01:11 And what exactly makes Wheat Lakotje so expensive?
01:16 (upbeat music)
01:18 These days, Wheat Lakotje is most commonly served
01:38 in quesadillas.
01:39 (speaking in foreign language)
01:43 Locals like Lorena have been eating for years
02:05 what fine diners in the US
02:07 are just now starting to enjoy.
02:09 And this new audience has created a business opportunity
02:16 for Mexican farmers like Emilio and his son, Heriberto.
02:20 (speaking in foreign language)
02:29 (upbeat music)
02:32 Even though Wheat Lakotje is a disease
02:54 and technically rotting the corn,
02:56 it's still crucial to harvest it
02:58 before it becomes too rotten.
03:00 (speaking in foreign language)
03:05 The best time to find this local favorite
03:19 is during Mexico's rainy season,
03:21 since the heavy wind and rain causes wounds in the corn
03:24 the fungus can infect.
03:26 Wheat Lakotje only affects unpollinated and damaged corn.
03:31 When the fungus first forms out of the corn kernels,
03:34 it starts out a yellowish white color
03:36 before turning gray with a smooth texture.
03:39 This is the ideal color and texture for customers.
03:42 As the Wheat Lakotje continues to swell
03:46 and form into galls,
03:48 it turns black and eventually bursts open
03:51 to release a black powder.
03:54 It takes two to four weeks for the infection to take hold
03:58 and for the galls to form.
04:00 This means farmers must carefully monitor crops
04:03 to harvest Wheat Lakotje at the exact right time
04:06 and maximize its brief shelf life.
04:09 (speaking in foreign language)
04:13 a little bit. (speaking in foreign language)
04:41 While this demand once outpaced the supply,
04:45 things have changed ever since farmers
04:47 found a way to infect crops year round,
04:50 partnering with scientists to isolate the fungus
04:54 and inject it directly into the corn.
04:56 (speaking in foreign language)
05:03 (speaking in foreign language)
05:07 Changes in temperature can also render
05:32 the injection liquid useless,
05:33 so workers must handle it with care.
05:36 (speaking in foreign language)
05:40 (dramatic music)
05:43 (speaking in foreign language)
06:00 (speaking in foreign language)
06:04 (speaking in foreign language)
06:08 (speaking in foreign language)
06:12 (speaking in foreign language)
06:41 However, if the liquid gets too cold or freezes,
06:45 that can also kill the fungi, so balance is key.
06:49 Heriberto and his father also take measures
06:52 to protect themselves before entering the cornfields.
06:56 They wear long sleeves since the prickly hairs
06:58 on the cornstalks can cause rashes.
07:01 (speaking in foreign language)
07:06 (speaking in foreign language)
07:10 (speaking in foreign language)
07:14 The most mature plants are injected first
07:38 before they can pollinate each other,
07:41 but injecting the corn is an art
07:43 and it doesn't always go perfectly.
07:45 (speaking in foreign language)
07:53 (speaking in foreign language)
07:57 (speaking in foreign language)
08:26 Despite how delicate the injection method is,
08:30 it still has a significantly higher success rate
08:33 than waiting for huitlacoche to form naturally.
08:36 Without refrigeration, huitlacoche only stays fresh
08:42 for one or two days, and any changes in temperature
08:46 or humidity can cause it to become increasingly dry,
08:50 so sending a less mature white-gray huitlacoche
08:53 to the market is essential for Emilio and Heriberto
08:56 if they want to make a profit.
08:57 While some producers now process huitlacoche to be canned,
09:02 which extends its shelf life and, in some instances,
09:06 lowers its price, fresh huitlacoche
09:08 is still the most popular choice
09:10 since that's what customers prefer.
09:13 Smaller producers also don't always have the resources
09:16 to preserve their huitlacoche via canning.
09:19 Instead, they typically sell directly to vendors
09:22 at wholesale markets.
09:25 (upbeat music)
09:27 Here at the Santa Rita Market in Coabla,
09:36 depending on the supply,
09:38 huitlacoche sells for 20 pesos to 50 pesos a kilo.
09:42 Many of the buyers here are local vendors
09:53 who cook and sell traditional dishes outside,
09:56 but also high-end restaurants who serve huitlacoche
09:59 in a variety of ways.
10:01 Although huitlacoche has been a local favorite
10:21 for centuries now, the international culinary world
10:25 has only just begun to admire it.
10:27 U.S. farmers considered the fungus
10:29 a major agricultural problem,
10:32 with studies from as early as the late 1800s
10:34 looking into how to eradicate the fungus.
10:38 Now, Michelin-starred restaurants like Osito
10:41 in San Francisco are starting to add the fungus
10:44 to their $295 tasting menu.
10:47 But for chefs outside of Mexico,
10:49 getting fresh huitlacoche is a big challenge
10:52 and part of why the price jumps so much
10:55 once it crosses the border.
10:56 In the U.S., huitlacoche imported from Mexico
11:11 has more than doubled in cost,
11:13 going from $15 to $20 a pound in 2020
11:17 to around $40 a pound today.
11:19 Despite the costs and limited shelf life,
11:23 many people, particularly chefs,
11:26 are eager to get their hands on the Mexican truffle.
11:29 Most of this demand is supplied by the huitlacoche
11:33 that is manually infected by humans.
11:35 Thanks to Martinez Carrera and other scientists,
11:38 Mexico now produces 1,500 tons of huitlacoche a year.
11:43 Most of this supply comes from much bigger farms
11:46 than Emilio's.
11:47 Meanwhile, naturally-grown huitlacoche
12:01 is getting rarer and rarer.
12:04 The rise of hybrid crops, as well as pesticides,
12:06 has made it significantly harder
12:08 for the fungus to take hold naturally.
12:10 Originally, the price of huitlacoche
12:16 in the 1950s was very high.
12:20 Why? Because farmers were looking for plants
12:25 that were naturally infected with huitlacoche
12:29 in the corn plantations.
12:30 And the demand was very high,
12:32 and the costs were very high.
12:33 Today, the prices are actually going down.
12:38 While injected crops have made it easier
12:40 for large-scale producers to meet the international demand,
12:43 they've also made the corn more accessible to locals
12:46 and created a more competitive market.
12:49 It's already $12 or $10 a kilo.
12:53 So we don't see a future for it.
12:55 But we can't do anything else for now.
12:59 [SPLAT]
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13:02 [SPEAKING SPANISH]
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13:10 (upbeat music)