The Mija Chronicles

Mexican food and culture, on both sides of the border

Mexican food find: Endotzi huitlacoche

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endotzi huitlacoche

In New York, I can’t find fresh huitlacoche anywhere, and the canned stuff is pretty awful: musty and mushy, and too slick and black. A friend told me about Endotzi, a small company based in Mexico that recently started exporting to the U.S.

So far you can only find it online in one place, Old Mexico Gourmet, but it’s worth ordering. The kernels — which you can actually distinguish one by one, unlike the messy black canned stuff — are plump and flavorful, and a purplish-blue color like they’re supposed to be. A few months ago I sautéed some with a little American corn and serrano chile, and spooned it into a quesadilla. The taste brought me right back to Mexico.

I’m hoping more stores in New York will stock it. In the meantime, I will definitely be ordering more, particularly as gifts for my Mexican foodie friends.

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  2. You can also try Huitlacoche with a french twist. Make a quiche. Taste great and delicious. Enjoy!!!!

  3. Thanks to you I was able to enjoy some delicious fresh masa huitlachoche quesadillas. I sauteed a little onion, stirred in the huitlachoche and added fresh corn and roasted chile poblanos as you suggested. Can’t wait until it’s available in NYC. Hopefully sooner than later!

    Cheers!
    Girelle

  4. “Ready to eat,” it says.

    Cuitlacoche is a non-acidic fungus and requires pressure canning to be preserved safely. I would expect from my experience cooking it that getting cuitlacoche to maintain its texture and quality at temperatures of 110-130º in pressure canning must require extreme care and determination. I like mine best cooked at 60-80º in an open skillet.

    Congrats to Old Mexico for making it work.

    Also, imagine the torture of pressure canning in Mexico City at 2500msnm.

    • Brian, I think they’re based in the Estado de México, so perhaps even slightly higher than Mexico City. But yes, I didn’t think about it from the canning perspective and the work that’s involved. I am very appreciative of their efforts!

  6. Lesley: I was so happy to read this post! I’ll definitely be ordering some of this. Thank you for sharing. Hope all is well in NYC.

  7. Hi! I’m from Mexico city and Tulancingo Hidaldo (a nearby culinary paradise) but live in Portland. Thanks for the tip on imported huitlacoche. My mom just brought me some that she cooked fresh the day before leaving, put it in a jar and then froze it. It arrived still cold. She brought me quesillo or queso Oaxaca (Tulancingo has the best cheese), I put it in blue corn tortillas made by a local wonderful nixtamal called “Three Sisters” ( organic corn, very authentic) and OMG, BEST huitlacoche quesadillas, just like in my beloved country.
    I will definitely check this imported huitlacoche out, and a suggestion I have is to make huitlacoche crepes, topped with bechamel sauce and grated cheese (I think a Gouda would be best) then let it melt and brown in the oven… GLORY. I’ve been making this dish for 20 years, still my favorite, try it. Happy cookings!

  8. I like the choice of name on the jar! Corn mushrooms is so much more attractive than corn fungus – the usual choice in recipes and descriptions in English.

    • Visit this website.www.oldmexicogourmey.com. We are distribuitors of huitlacoche , pickled mushrooms and mexican olive oil. Also visit creocommercium.com for other products. Good luck

  11. Thanks for this, Lesley. The only restaurant in DC that I knew of that served dishes with huitlacoche has closed! So I’m going to have to figure out how to cook my own.

    • You can use huitlacoche in so many dishes. You can use it in a quiche.(mix it up). Empanadas, stuffed chicken breasts,, quesadillas, tacos. The main idea is to use your imagination. Great for vegetarian dishes.
      Good luck and keep us posted with your creations!!!!