Ustilago maydis...Corn Smut

The corn maze, maize maze?, was an interesting ramble, but much of the corn was infected with this disgusting fungus.

I did some cursory research and I have to quote the Wikipedia entry that notes in a certain populations of native Mexican-Americans, "It is considered a delicacy, even being preserved and sold for a higher price than corn. 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." I don't doubt that the flavor is mushroom-like. I'd give it a shot, but lacking this information earlier today, I opened only the largest galls which were all filled with dry black spores. Maybe next year.