This Revolting Fungus Could Make You Younger And Healthier

[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/314258b539a7.jpg[/atsimg]

This looks like an alien parasite, or maybe an evil brain, but it's actually a fungus that attacks corn. U.S. farmers call it "corn smut" and have spent millions to eradicate it. But it's actually better for you than corn. A new study, released in the journal Food Chemistry reveal that corn smut, also called "the devil's corn," actually contains valuable nutrients that aren't found in the corn that it feeds off. In Mexico, the fungus is called huitlacoche, and it's already considered a delicacy. But U.S. farmers, and the U.S. government, have spent millions of dollars to eradicate the blight and develop "smut-resistant strains" of corn.

Turns out that corn smut, despite its loathsome appearance and pornographic name, is chock full of essential nutrients, including lysine, an amino acid that can strengthen bones and make your skin look younger. And beta-glucens, a soluble fiber that helps you cut your cholesterol. So it's actually better for you, and could turn out to be more valuable on the market, than the corn it "ruins." Weird fungi like this could be the food staples of the future, so I guess we'd better start getting used to the way they look. Photos by AP. [Associated Press]

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Looks like something out a dean koontz book or some kind of alien brain...

Imagine having dehydrated stockpiles of this instead of canned food in your space vessel for nutrient purposes. lol Interesting stuff.

Cool ugly but looks interesting. Its funny how Arthur Clarke named Korn as a staple in the future, its a fungus product. Sounds nutritious I'd like to see a full nutrient breakdown per serving size.

Lol, this is indeed, gross.

I once made a post with a link to a site about weird food with far more extreme pictures and got a post removal and warning for it.

So y'all be warned, don't show other pics since this one is very mild and trust me, the pictures are something that cannot be unseen.

Didn't know it was that healthy though, wouldn't eat it if my life depended on it.

reply to post by Grey Magic


hahaha, Yeah it would be pretty hard to swallow that thing.

But, you could just dry it out and grind it into a powder and make yummy shakes out of it...or just add it to other foods.

It wouldn't be hard to swallow at all if it was dried, ground down and put into a pill like some kind of super-vitamin.

NEVER...ever, judge a book by it's cover. To do so is not only superficial and shallow, but robs you of every learning experience wisdom and fate provide.

And I'd rather swallow it raw, than swallow any of Monsanto's Syntheticorn (which is becoming more difficult to avoid by the day).

Where do I get mine? I'll dehydrate it up and compress it into something swallow-able myself.

S&F

EDIT: Spllng

ADD EDIT:

Additional Wiki Info

The fungus has had difficulty entering into the American and European diets as most farmers see it as blight, despite attempts by government and high profile chefs. In the mid-1990s, due to demand created by high-end restaurants, Pennsylvania and Florida farms were allowed by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) to intentionally infect corn with huitlacoche. Most observers consider the program to have had little impact[citation needed], although the initiative is still in progress. Regardless, the cursory show of interest is significant because the USDA has spent a considerable amount of time and money trying to eradicate huitlacoche in the United States. Moreover, in 1989 the James Beard Foundation held a high-profile huitlacoche dinner. This dinner famously tried to get Americans to eat more of it by renaming it the Mexican truffle.

Huitlacoche grows best during times of drought in a 78°F to 93°F (25°C–34°C) temperature range. Aztecs purposely inoculated corn with the spores by scratching their corn plants at the soil level with a knife—thereby allowing the water-borne spores easy entrance into the plant

[edit on 27-4-2010 by lagnar]

reply to post by Crossfate

It is most popular in Mexico, where it is known as "huitlacoche" and can be regularly found as an option in meals. The consumption of corn smut originates from ancient Aztec cuisine and is still considered a delicacy in Mexico, even being preserved and sold for a significantly higher price than corn.[7] For culinary use, the galls are harvested while still immature — fully mature galls are dry and almost entirely spore-filled. The immature galls, gathered two to three weeks after an ear of corn is infected, still retain moisture and, when cooked, have a flavor described as mushroom-like, sweet, savory, woody, and earthy. Flavor compounds include sotolon and vanillin, as well as the sugar glucose.

The fungus has had difficulty entering into the American and European diets as most farmers see it as blight, despite attempts by government and high profile chefs. In the mid-1990s, due to demand created by high-end restaurants, Pennsylvania and Florida farms were allowed by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) to intentionally infect corn with huitlacoche. Most observers consider the program to have had little impact[citation needed], although the initiative is still in progress. Regardless, the cursory show of interest is significant because the USDA has spent a considerable amount of time and money trying to eradicate huitlacoche in the United States. Moreover, in 1989 the James Beard Foundation held a high-profile huitlacoche dinner. This dinner famously tried to get Americans to eat more of it by renaming it the Mexican truffle.

In Mexico Huitlacoche is mostly consumed fresh and can be purchased at restaurants, street or farmer's markets throughout the country. Huitlacoche, to a much lesser degree, can also be purchased as a canned good in some markets and via the internet. Some farmers markets and organic growers are endeavoring to bring fresh huitlacoche to their customers and local food service trade.

Native Americans of the American Southwest, including the Zuni tribe, have used corn smut to induce labor. It has similar medicinal effects to ergot, but weaker, due to the presence of the chemical ustilagine.

[edit on 27-4-2010 by D.E.M.]