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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 an increasingly popular specialty ingredient around the world. However, the US has dedicated significant time and money to keeping its cornfields free of what they call "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? 00:00 - Intro 00:39 – Huitlacoche Flavor 01:35 – Cooking with Huitlacoche 02:26 – Meet the farmers 03:02 – Harvesting Huitlacoche 03:17 – How the fungus infects corn 04:10 – Huitlacoche shelf life 05:00 –Inoculating the corn 06:10 – Preventing Inoculation Liquid From Overheating 06:50 – Protective Gear in the Field 07:49 – Injecting Improperly 08:27 – Controlled Infection Rate vs. Natural Infection Rate 09:25 – Heading to the Market 10:40 – Huitlacoche in Fine Dining 11:12 – Price Doubling 11:44 – Monopolizing the Huitlacoche Market 12:13 – Huitlacoche Price Changes WATCH MORE SO EXPENSIVE VIDEOS: Why 11 Of The World's Priciest Items Are So Expensive | So Expensive Season 11 | Insider Business https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wl61j2agkCQ&pp=ygUUaW5zaWRlciBzbyBleHBlbnNpdmU%3D 10-Hour So Expensive Marathon | 77 Episodes | So Expensive | Insider Business https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gJH-NUO2rAY&t=0s So Expensive Food Season 2 Marathon | So Expensive Food | Insider Business https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AkOkPs555kQ&t=0s ------------------------------------------------------ #Corn #SoExpensiveFood #InsiderBusiness Business Insider tells you all you need to know about business, finance, tech, retail, and more. Visit our homepage for the top stories of the day: https://www.businessinsider.com Insider Business on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/businessinsider Insider Business on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/insiderbusiness Insider Business on Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/businessinsider Insider Business on Snapchat: https://www.snapchat.com/discover/Business_Insider/5319643143 Insider Business on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@businessinsider Why Huitlacoche (Corn Smut) is So Expensive | So Expensive | Business Insider