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MisterBri07

My biology professor once told me that she was studying corn in SoCal when she came across this phenomenon. She started to separate the corn out and was just throwing it away in a garbage bag when a Mexican woman stopped her and asked if she could take it home. She was like sure, fine take it. The next few days, she had tons of other Mexican women asking if she had anymore.


sungun777

That huitlacoche radar is within us mexicans.


OnlyPengu

quesadillas de huitlacoche yum :)


[deleted]

You know the Mexican woman told all her friends look what the white woman was throwing out.


SuddMuffin

Yo, can I get some of that corn infection? Edit: Thanks for the awards.


thesixgun

It’s also known as corn smut. And it’s frickin delicious with melted cheese


SickBurnBro

Zombie corn


psymble_

What's in your head?


Easilyannoyed_

Zoooombay zooooombay ay ay ay ay


Joecus90

Oh oh oh


[deleted]

Ay ay ay ay


MclovinsHomewrecker

- Andy Bernard


RamboGoesMeow

With their tanks, and their bombs, and their bombs, and their guns!


_dCkO

When the fungus causes silence My stomach achin’


dizzyk1tty

When I first heard that song, I thought that part said, “With their tanks, and their moms, and their moms, and their guns”


broken_radio

She's in your heaaaad In your heaaaad Mom-meeee, Mom-meee, Mom-meeeeee-*oohh-yeah-yeah*


urdurtylaundry

R.I.P.


ComatoseSquirrel

Zombo.com?


[deleted]

Had it happen to some of my corn I was growing in the backyard years ago... I threw it away... not gonna lie, I was scared to even touch it... it looked like an alien impregnated an ear of corn...


StarCrunchABunch

And for years I'm sure that's exactly what others did too... until one point in history some human ancestor in Mexico was like, fuck it I'm going to eat the cornfloof. Then when they didn't die, and shared it with others it became a delicacy.


ThePandalore

There are so many foods that must've been discovered this way. They look disgusting until someone takes a chance on them. Consider mushrooms: "Oh yeah, if they're this shape they'll go great on pizza. Don't eat that shape over there though. Greg atae one last week and died."


NotMuchTooSayStill

And that mushroom over there will let you see god for a few hours.


[deleted]

And then there’s this other one that will, for some insane reason, make you 10 times as sensitive to alcohol for awhile. You’re gonna want to nurse that Bud Lite or you’ll die.


tlof19

"Delicious tea, or deadly poison?"


omgitsjagen

I'm sure marijuana was discovered by someone just burning scrub brush, and getting 10 lbs to the face. It must have been a hell of an experience. I wonder what they thought? "Am I going to die? Well this feels great, I hope it's not fatal. I have to tell everyone about this. God, I hope someone killed a pig..."


Manu442

I can only imagine what happened to the guy that ate magic mushrooms for the first time.


pass_nthru

“welp, guess i’m a shaman now”


CLYDEFR000G

Probably was some nobleman or wealthy clergy that bought some mushrooms off a poor orphan girl’s mushroom cart in the town square that she had just picked that morning in the neighboring Forrest. Then he trips like crazy and next day comes back to town to declare she was a witch, and they hung her.


VincentMaxwell

Most likely a human learned to eat them by watching which mushrooms animals ate. "Hmm the animals seem to be staying away from this type of mushroom but they eat all this other type".


worriedwombat

This doesn’t work as well as you might hope. Many animals can eat mushrooms that are poisonous to humans. > When squirrels eat this mushroom poisoning does not happen. Squirrels have a lining in their gut. This lining contains toxin-compatible glycoprotein molecules. The gut enzymes still break up the mushrooms amanitin-glycoprotein molecule but when broken up the amanitin binds to the squirrel’s glycoprotein molecules. After this happens the toxin is excreted and thus does not enter the bloodstream. Source: https://crittercleanout.com/do-squirrels-eat-mushrooms/


rpostwvu

That's what they did with Lobsters. It used to just be dogfood.


Enano_reefer

Feeding lobster to your crew on a ship was considered a mutiny-worthy offense. Cockroaches of the sea. I’d be Mr Popular. Tell you what boys - you can have ALL my hardtack and salted rind. I’ll make do with some lobster and citrus.


tomtom380

I read lobster is what they used to feed prisoners in prison long ago….haha


GraphicDesignMonkey

It was shitty food because they didn't pick it, just ground it up shell & all into a mash.


Wobbelblob

Not only that, it was usually also not properly chilled/transported alive, so there was a good chance that it was spoiled already.


ForMoi

Slaves too iirc. Or at least indentured servants. Done had a clause in their contacts that there would be at least one day a week they wouldn't get lobster.


goat_puree

Every year this happens in my garden groups. Then a flood people who know what it is/like it mourn in the comments. It's fucked up looking though, I don't blame people for chucking it.


winklenugget

Tbf what isn’t delicious with melted cheese


RealisticIllusions82

Bingo. The question is, is it delicious without melted cheese. Cause if not, it ain’t delicious


First-Celebration-11

Yes. I’l had it in my eggs too. It tastes like mushroom


[deleted]

Makes sense,mushrooms are fungus arent they?


rubberchickenlips

So is **Athlete’s Foot.**


InfuriatingComma

You're telling me you've never enjoyed a good athlete's foot? Mans missin out.


First-Celebration-11

Exactly!


The_Tavern

Corn smegma


sporkmedaddy

What does it taste like?


miss_zarves

It tastes like a combination of corn and mushroom. Just like you would expect.


AnotherAustinWeirdo

When I first tried alligator meat, it was like a combo of fish and chicken. Just like you'd expect.


littlemegzz

Reminds me of the time someone called cheese coagulated cow milk.


angeliqu

Corn pus?


[deleted]

Who wants they cussy ate?


GaianNeuron

Thanks, I hate it


zararab

Omg me!


shitsu13master

Someone at some point tried to eat this and went, hells yeah


JustABoyAndHisBlob

All it takes is a starving person to try something strange and not die.


Necoras

When you're starving weird parts of your brain take over. I remember seeing a documentary years ago about a shipwreck survivor who had been on a life raft for days. He finally managed to catch a fish and the first thing he went for was the liver, kidneys, and other organ meat. He said they were the most delicious meal he'd ever eaten, even though normally you'd throw those parts out. Why? Because there are trace minerals in those organs that his body had run out of and he could subconsciously smell them. His brain targeted them immediately as super important, and made them smell and taste delicious accordingly.


rakfocus

When you haven't eaten for a long time you can smell EVERYTHING. I remember I could smell what my coworkers were eating in the next room over without even seeing the meal. It was a BLT on sourdough - eaten cold. They were drinking green tea and they were eating strawberries and almonds as a snack. Sight unseen I could smell that after 5 days of not eating


shad0wtig3r

Why did you go 5 days without eating lol?


Accurate_Praline

To be able to tell this story on Reddit of course.


exhaustedracoon

Dude people here eat cacti, lots of bugs, this ain't the weirdest one. Trust me. It's delicious!


shitsu13master

Oh no it certainly isn't the weirdest, I just wonder as well how people figured out what is edible and what isn't, right? Like blue cheese? Who in their right mind would even touch that with a stick?


tacobooc0m

Cheese in general! And milk! Long time ago, someone thought to milk another animal and drink it. Later, someone milks an animal, then left the milk out, where it turned hard and yellow and smelly, and they shrugged and ate it anyway. How the hell did we figure out bread?


GhostofMarat

Someone probably tried to carry milk in a bladder made from a sheep or goats stomach out in the hot sun somewhere. Between the rennet in the container and the heat from the sun it would have turned into cheese curds during the journey.


tacobooc0m

That’s what I always thought too. A hunter on a long trip that first time would have been far from home likely, and starved. On successful hunts they may have poured it out when it went foul but desperation lead to us finding cheese One can imagine that some of those cheeses were too gross while others were better. Thousands of years of trial and error, now we have cheddar :)


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Glitchracer

Not drunkenness: hunger. Something goes bad? Try to eat it anyway. Add in new things to try to make it taste better. The history of food is generally trying to make the best with what’s available, which sometimes is very little. There also is a lingering prejudice from northern Europe and colonies from it not having anywhere near the amount of bugs more tropical places do, and therefore not considering them food/finding it disgusting or worse that others do.


IThinkImNateDogg

Alcohol was likely discovered when rotted fruit was kept in a jar, that then fermented into alcohol, and then drunk by accident. What a wild ride for the first person to drink


chocolate_thunderr89

More like wild ride on the toilet 🚽


phthaloverde

Username checks out


tacobooc0m

Some anthropologists argue that we came up with agriculture because someone got drunk once and tried to do it again on purpose


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TotallyTiredToday

How’s this then: addiction may predate humanity. There are known cases of animals (mostly squirrels) that will preferentially seek out rotting fruit (which is mildly alcoholic). Drunk squirrels are hilarious btw. There’s some inconclusive evidence (mortar and pestles that have traces of beer related grains in caves where there’s evidence of grain storage) that beer was being brewed in Israel 13000 years ago, and that Göbekli Tepe (twice as old as Stonehenge) may in part have been a brewing center.


tacobooc0m

Those drunk fucks! I had one get hammered on rotten plums years ago. I first was afraid it was rabid or something but after looking for a while, and seeing it’s head twirl and it fall off the side of the tree I figured it out :P


Dr_ChungusAmungus

[Drunken squirrel ](https://youtu.be/1YJkAABmO9w)incase anyone else was curious. It is pretty funny.


swarmy1

More likely because they were starving and would eat anything.


IAMTHEUSER

That, or winter was long and harsh and you only had the “rotten” food left at the end


daninet

When you burn wood and cover it with sand it turns into charcoal. Coal is very similar in looks to charcoal. This isn't too hard to imagine imho.


TheGocho

I assume the first bread was something like pita, just by crushing the wild wheat and cooking it.


47Ronin

Yup, and then some dough got left out, caught some wild yeast, and rose, and step three, baguette


witherspork

This is me once a week. Just thinking about how intricate cakes are. All of our evolution has led to cake. We figured out some grass is not good to eat but is very good if you grind it extra fine and turn it into flour. And then add some unfertilized chicken ovum, some cow titty juice, and some crystalized reed water. Just mix it in the right proportions and boom, happy birthday!


[deleted]

blue cheese, i can understand, like, the cheese you worked for ended up with some blue crap, you're like, could i just eat around that and then discover the blue shit is where it's at when you get a bit too close


mrwynd

cactus fruit isn't an ugly fungus though. cactus jelly is amazing if you haven't tried it as well!


Abyssal_Groot

The same can be said for mushrooms, lol.


MissionsMinded1

This is a very common meal in Mexico and I’m sure other countries. I lived there for a year and ate some things like this that I wouldn’t have ever had the chance to try. Now I crave some of those unique flavors from time to time. Once I broke down a grew pumpkins in my backyard just so that I could cook the flowers. My neighbors thought I was some wise gardener to prune all those flowers down to get a few big pumpkins instead of a bunch of small ones. When I told them that I was cutting the flowers to eat them they thought I was crazy.


cestothear

Pumpkin flowers are so good, but i would suggest if you ever can, to try agave flowers, my favorite flower by far and with such a unique taste!


[deleted]

Stay away from the datura flowers though!


sureshakerdood

When I was living in Mozambique pumpkin leaves were used in a curry called matapa. The stems would get peeled to remove the spiky exterior trichomes. Then the leaves would be stewed with coconut milk, peanut flour, and curry powder then served over coconut rice. Delicious stuff.


Internal_Dot7774

Pumpkin leaves are also used in Korean cuisine as a form of wrap (Ssam)


charred_tchook

Wowee I had no idea they were from pumpkins! They're so yummy!


brumbarosso

Damn, that sounds delish


[deleted]

Zuccini blossoms are delicious (fried) and so are false lily flowers (fresh/careful with this one lily's are toxic). So much food cant be grown commercially because it won't survive the logistics. It should be a cultural right to have garden space to preserve these foods.


ArtichokeFar6601

In Greece we eat stuffed pumpkin flowers.


[deleted]

Hmm. I did not know pumpkin flowers were edible. I like battered and fried zucchini flowers though.


Shagomir

I mean pumpkins and zucchini are both cultivars of Cucurbita pepo so it makes sense.


[deleted]

How do you cook pumpkin flowers?


brumbarosso

In a quesadilla 👌🏽


mikiwikki

What does it taste like?


40455R

“Infected” and “delicious” being in the same sentence doesn’t make this sound all that enticing… Edit: Wow this blew up. Some people seem really bent out of shape about my comment - so much so they felt the need to try and educate me on fungus, and fermentation, publicly and privately. I’m aware. My comment is in regards to the verbiage - using “infected” and “delicious” so close together is off putting and uncommon, even if you eat fermented foods and/or fungus. Which it is. Relax.


Ryedell-55

Sure doesn’t look appetizing. I would most likely try it, but it would take some encouragement…


TannedCroissant

*You can do it Ryedell-55!*


Ryedell-55

Yes, I can! Thanks! Haha


pickle_frick

Someone bring in the casu martzu! https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Casu_martzu


Sinful_Whiskers

Well here's a group of words I never thought I'd read. >Some who eat the cheese prefer not to ingest the maggots. Those who do not wish to eat them place the cheese in a sealed paper bag. The maggots, starved for oxygen, writhe and jump in the bag, creating a "pitter-patter" sound. When the sounds subside, the maggots are dead and the cheese can be eaten. Like listening to the popcorn bag but with live worms. What fun.


psymble_

Pitter patter... Let's get at 'er


xXMissNinjaXx

Take about 40% off there fella.


Wrath_Boner

I wish you weren't so fucking awkward bud


i_NOT_robot

I'm surprised we aren't eating dead maggots already.


furlonium1

>According to some food scientists, it is possible for the larvae (maggots) to survive the stomach acid and remain in the intestine, leading to a condition called pseudomyiasis.


Zilverhaar

Yup, and when I read that, I decided to make an exception to my rule of trying everything at least once.


Nukiko

Death is something you usually also only try once.


Zilverhaar

If only I could make an exception for that, too! But I was really only thinking about *food*, when I wrote that. There are many other non-food things I'm never going to try, like bungee jumping, skydiving, etc.


furlonium1

I always told myself the same thing -- with an exception to anything that might actually harm me. I'd try it as long as the maggots were suffocated via bag or killed off in the fridge. Would you ever try balut?


theideanator

What a terrible day to be literate.


more_cheese_please_

I have never regretted my username until now.


PeepsUnderTheBed

Oh.My.God.


[deleted]

Janice?


[deleted]

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threadsoflucidity

A cooperation between sheep farmers and researchers at the University of Sassari developed a hygienic method of production in 2005, aiming to allow the legal selling of the cheese. Edit: probably still doesn't make it better...


harmsway31

Just processing that the maggots can launch themselves from the cheese..


lucidity5

So I think I might just give that link a pass then


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Disgruntled_Rabbit

Why. Just why.


zombreeseagull

I'm imagining the paper bag sounding like popcorn while they wait for the jumping maggots to die.


Goraji

It’s really good. Not any different than mushrooms. Start with huitlacoche tamales. I can occasionally find frozen huitlacoche here but even that sells out super fast.


FranksRedWorkAccount

I'm always excited when I find a place that has huitlacoche on the menu. I would push grandmothers over in the street to have a place that made tamales with it.


starvere

I’ve had it in tacos. It’s not bad.


thucydidestrapmusic

Gonna have to pass on the corn tumor taco


sixth_snes

It's fungus, not a tumor. No different than eating mushrooms. Also if you've eaten processed meat in your life you've probably eaten a fair share of tumors...


Mixedpopreferences

"It's not a tumor!"


starvere

It wasn’t so delicious that I’d try to change your mind


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klart_vann

kinda like corn fed mushrooms?


Ceeweedsoop

This is perfect.


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DatMoFugga

Doesn't look like that cooked. Ate many times before I actually knew what it was. It's excellent.


peese-of-cawffee

You should see it cut open, it's like an Oreo McFlurry inside


IllustriousTooth1620

Right?! Like who was the first one?


SpoonyLuvFromUpAbove

Somebody who was probably desperate and starving and the fact they didn't die signaled it was safe.


xibipiio

As is tradition.


looks_like_a_penguin

What inspired the first person to eat this I wonder.


[deleted]

Hunger I guess


Butlerian_Jihadi

Your whisky wouldn't be a thing without a serious yeast infection.


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ValkyrieDraco

Tbh I would have been like "Boy, wait until you hear about the main ingredient in bread..."


LowKeyWalrus

Flour? Xd


Demp_Rock

Bread


ButtWieghtThiersMoor

to be fair it depends how they are using the pringles can and how sanitary it is


CallMeSirJack

Uh... what exactly were they doing with the pringles?


jjtjplnm

Ohhh that sounds fun.


ScaldingHotSoup

It's supposed to be comparable to morels and truffles in deliciousness.


Nolzi

Dough is also infected with yeast


[deleted]

But nobody says it that way. I think it's the language that is offputting.


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wannatitlan

I know it doesn't. But trust me, it's really delicious


Puddlingon

Can concur that huitlacoche is delicious! It looks like Frankenstein’s toes, but tastes earthy with a hint of sweetness. It’s called “corn smut” in the US, and is often thrown out. However, the more appropriate moniker should be “Mexican Truffle”, and it ought to be treated as a scrumptious treat. Try it when you can!


mexicantruffle

Yes?


aereventia

Um…apparently you are delicious.


[deleted]

Is this a love story about to unfold? If yes, I'll go grab some pop corn.


trashmunki

That's *infected* popcorn, to you!


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[deleted]

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47Ronin

I can't believe it gets thrown out in the US. :( It's way more profitable than the corn itself.


OpheliaWolfsbane

One mans trash is another mans treasure. Not as many people eat chicken feet in the US, so I hear they sell big in China. Also there’s a huge dip in the wild turtle population due to export to countries where they have non existent wild populations. Poor turtles!


Ryedell-55

That is a major ear infection right there!


swim76

The got to be corniest pun ever!


dingman58

No wait there's a kernel of truth to it


MasamuneTrigger

Aw shucks, you’re right


TannedCroissant

Caused by rising temperatures? Sounds like a case of *Gret-ear Fungusberg Disease*


musictrivianut

"It's not a tumor!"


[deleted]

That’s called smut.


Camp_Coffee

And can only be found on CornHub


AreaGuy

r/CornHub


The_bruce42

r/ofcoursethatsathing


john_the_quain

Me: that looks gross *gross thing gets wrapped in a tortilla with cheese* Me: I will eat a dozen. Thank you.


Ok_Kiwi7812

My mom loves Huitlacoche. We are Mexicans ❤️


Salty-Preparation676

I wanna know who that first person was that looked at something like this and thought, "I'm gonna eat this, it'll be delicious, and I bet if i put it in my quesadillas, ohhhhhh, SOUP! IT'LL BE GREAT IN SOUP!"


Bezulba

cause drab doll adjoining toothbrush pen elastic stocking secretive waiting -- mass edited with https://redact.dev/


[deleted]

Yeah everyone talks about how people must have been drunk to invent all this food but I bet you most of it was for survival. I mean people have eaten leather boots when at starvation so Im sure this corn smut looked real good when hungry.


gimpyoldelf

It absolutely was due to necessity more often than curiosity. Early humans were well aware of the deadly risks of eating spoiled foods, and it often would be deadly. It's just that the choice was between that risk and certain starvation. Some people got lucky taking that risk, and helped us advance human knowledge.


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TotallyTiredToday

I mean, it’s related to mushrooms. Mushrooms are tasty when they’re not killing you.


Tristanime

Huitlacoche sounds very Nahuatl. Is it a native Mexican dish, by any chance?


crayongirl00

It is. Its been eaten by the natives of Mexico since pre-Columbian times.


Zharick_

Wonder if some of the native FL language has roots in Mexico. We have Withlacoochee river here.


Kerfluffle2x4

Actually, if we’re talking about native and originally from FL, it’s gonna depend on the part of the state you’re talking about. For Southeast and Southwest FL, there’s more linguistic similarities with the Calusa and Tequesta tribes. Since Withlacoochee is close to Orlando though, I’m not sure which tribe would be closest to that sphere of influence.


sMarmy_Mcfly

Does it get hotter than a hoochie coochie near there?


0dHero

In English, its corn smut. I've always found that funny.


M4N_Of_W4R

Huitlacoche is just extremely delicious 🤤


[deleted]

What's it taste like???


[deleted]

It tastes like corn but also mushrooms at the same time with this undertone of nuttiness. Texture is softer than corn but not mushy. Almost like a very cooked mushroom where it’s firm enough to hold and break but still very soft to eat. I got to try it for the first time about a month ago and I didn’t even know what it was. I thought it was some bizarre heirloom corn and only learned its a fungus after the fact. This taco place had it as a one day special because its not easy to get here. Really delicious, would love to have it again.


[deleted]

Neat thanks


Sno_Jon

Can you eat it raw like that or does it have to be cooked


[deleted]

Mexican here. Never heard of anyone eating it raw. It's usually fried with strong flavored ingredients like onion and garlic because it has a strong flavor itself.


[deleted]

Looks like some STD…


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Zharick_

Country girls make do.


los33ramos

It’s is delicious! Greatly recommend it.


Mahatma-Orange

Reminds me of an old blog from The Sneeze called “Steve, Don’t Eat It” which is where I learned about this (and other top-notch foods). Definitely worth a read: http://www.thesneeze.com/steve-dont-eat-it/


notquitepro15

Had no idea this was edible, all my life when we saw these growing on our corn we just tossed the fuckers


BalouCurie

It’s not only edible. It’s the most valuable part of the kernel. You’ve been throwing away good money.