Skip to main content

It's More Than Time to Educate Filipinos About Corn Fungus' Edibility

Rural Rising Philippines' Facebook Page

It's no secret that I'm a fan of Mexican food. Years ago, I remember a disgusting photo featuring corn fungus. It's called corn smut and smut isn't a pleasant word. What really was a surprise (or not) was that corn fungus is actually edible. It's called Huitlacoche and it's highly prized in Mexico. So far, no Mexican food outlet in the Philippines offers it, sad to say. I even talked to some people about it. They were surprised that it could be eaten.

Both the Philippines and Mexico used to be Spanish colonies. I ordered a few dish items from Puesto Restaurant in Cebu City. One of the beef meat dishes was called barbacoa. I'm not surprised at some similar names because the Spanish people did occupy a good portion of the Philippines for nearly 300 years. A dish I ate called el polo loco literally means crazy chicken. Loco means crazy and Filipino language uses loko as crazy. Sadly, none of the Mexican restaurants featured corn fungus on the menu.

The awareness that corn fungus can be eaten may not be that huge. It's a shame really because it's often thrown out. I could understand if other types of fungi were thrown away because they're poisonous. Not all mushrooms are edible either. It turns out that while any corn that's hit with deadly fungus should be thrown out--this fungus can be eaten after all!

Sorry to say but not all GMA-7 videos have English subtitles for non-Tagalog speakers. I don't have a transcript either so sorry in advance. Just watching this video might help more Filipino agriculturists raise locally-produced corn fungus. I may enjoy some imported food products but I prefer food that's freshly produced in the local area. If I go to another country, I'd probably ask what's the best local food products so I can eat fresh. Rather than try to get some shipments from Mexico--why not grow more of them in the Philippines instead? I'm still in favor of importation but it's still good to learn new food production in similar climates. 

Labels:

Popular posts from this blog

The Great Reversal: Democratic Philippines Became MORE Dependent on COMMUNIST Vietnam for Rice

Bao Thanh Nien On January 24, 2026, I read from the Philippine Star Facebook page  that a vendor from Baseco, Tondo, is selling Vietnamese rice at PHP 20.00 per kilo. Honestly, it made me laugh over President Ferdinand "Bongbong" R. Marcos Jr.'s promise. Was this rice from Vietnam a rice surplus if it wasn't premium rice? My experience with rice selling was with wholesale,  and it was a very different time. What I learned in the late 2000s to 2012 may no longer be applicable today.  Taking a look back at the history of Vietnam and the Philippines before Doi Moi This time, I decided to go with history because a certain someone on Facebook (as always, I will not mention names as much as possible) has actually called it that the Philippines' dependency on Vietnam for rice, despite the International Rice Research Institute being actually located in Pili Drive, Los Baños, Laguna 4031, Philippines. This guy (whom I nickname Porky due to his obesity) I just mentioned, sp...
Read more

Opening #SahodItaasPresyoIbaba Stores Nationwide Increases POGO-Related Risks (NOT FDI)

Alice Guo aka Guo Hua-Ping may be in jail now . However, I believe the saga is far from over . It reminds me that I actually wrote about how several idiots on Facebook go so far as to say, " Alice Guo should be a warning about open FDI! " Some have even gone as far as to say that POGO and Chinese spies should "justify" the Filipino First Policy . However, the harsher reality is that the Filipino First Policy may actually be encouraging dummy investors instead ! As the saga continues, I've decided to write what I might call my harshest entry yet. It's going to be Chinese New Year this year. This might be an entry that may need to be shared before the Lunar New Year! My grievances are  still ongoing because some people still demand #SahodItaasPresyoIbaba, no matter how destructive it  will be . That's why I use Venezuela as an example, especially during Nicolas Maduro's downfall . Back to the topic, I remember writing a joke post where I said, "Wh...
Read more

Social Media Gossipers' Ad Hominems Against Actor Robin Padilla Regarding His Proposal to Remove 60-40

Make no mistake that I didn't vote for Robin Padilla. I feel like I've had enough of voting for celebrities, athletes, and those who I felt are know-nothings in the legislative. However, Padilla recently had his proposal to remove the 60-40 restrictions regarding foreign direct investments (FDIs) . Former Philippine Vice President Maria Leonor "Leni" Gerona-Robredo was even in favor of that amendment. I guess that's why Philippine economist Andrew James Masigan endorsed Robredo. I may have not endorsed Robredo while Masigan remains to be one of my favorite local sources. The news from GMA News Online reveals these plans by Padilla himself: Senator Robin Padilla said he wanted to revise the Constitution to scrap the 60-40 rule on foreign ownership of businesses to accelerate job creation and competition among industries . In a Monday interview, Padilla said the move would attract more foreign investments to support the country’s economic recovery. “Para sa akin mas...
Read more

Red Lizard: Wrestling With Your Taste Buds With Delicious Mexican Food

During the late 2010s, I remember one of the greatest things I got into was Mexican food. I remembered a delicious Mexican restaurant opened in I.T. Park Cebu but it was later closed down. From what I heard, the owner closed it down out of grief and I don't blame the person for it. Years later, there was El Taquito at SSY which I also enjoyed. However, El Taquito is now located on Governor M. Roa Avenue in Cebu City. I would like to talk about the Red Lizard--Taqueria which has branches in SM Cyberzone, IT Park (where I usually get my deliveries), and Ayala Center Cebu.  I had quite a wild imagination thinking the restaurant was founded by a retired wrestler. I thought Red Lizard was a real luchador or Mexican wrestler. On the contrary, the character of Red Lizard is as fictitious as Jollibee's mascot, an anthropomorphic bee named Jollibee. Further research showed that Red Lizard belongs to the Abaca Group of Companies founded by Jason Hyatt and his Chinese wife Anna (whom he m...
Read more

FDI Inflows Don't Include Money That Filipino Women Get From Dating (or Even Marrying) Male Foreigners

Today is Valentine's Day and also Ash Wednesday. Ash Wednesday doesn't have a fixed date since the Lenten season depends on the Jewish calendar's cycle. Back on topic, I wrote about Filipinas marrying foreigners to escape the hardships of life . Eventually, I followed it up by writing about how the IBON Foundation possibly views FDI  followed up by how Migrante Internation possibly views FDI . With those two organizations in mind, I wonder if their statements state that the late Ferdinand E. Marcos Sr. allegedly opened up the economy to foreign investments all the more (which is a lie ) may have also included Filipinas dating foreign males of different kinds. Sure, the correct word for the English is Filipino woman but I prefer to use Filipina because of my status as a Filipino citizen .  I have nothing against Filipinas dating foreign men if it's done out of love. However, I can't help but notice the crude jokes that are written against FDI. Some economically ignor...
Read more