We were at a breakfast buffet a few weeks back when my husband brought back a quesadilla loaded with what we would consider unusual ingredients.  Squash flowers (sounds innocent enough), chapulines (toasted grasshoppers with lime and chilis), and huitacoches (what we call corn smut in the USA).  I had been wanting to try the chapulines but had not done so when I had the chance in Puebla a year ago. They are an excellent source of cheap protein.  I found them to be a little tart and while I wouldn't buy a bag and snack on them like chips I would have no objection to throwing them into a quesadilla again.  What I didn't know about the huitacoche I found out about over breakfast this morning.  The smoky, earthy, mushroom taste in my quesadilla was the corn smut and it was delicious.  Looking at pictures of the thing right on the corn may look like bluish white carbuncles or brain matter and canned products from brands like Goya look even worse.  They are high in lysine, an essential amino acid and make corn a more nutritional product for us.  Chefs in the USA are introducing huitacoches in gourmet recipes and some organic farmers are finding that they can get more $ from a good crop of smut than the traditional corn crop.  We have a lot to learn about what is food and learning from other cultures is great way to eat a better diet.