ASK ZARELA: Where can I get corn for posole and huitlacoche?

Photo of fresh huitlacoche by Laurie Smith www.LSmithPhoto.com

For years I have said that it was easier to get maguey worms in New York that Mexican corn.  But today I went to a little grocery store  Las Palomas (the doves) on West 100th Street between Amsterdam and Broadway and there I found, not only maiz cacahuaxintle but many of the things that I crave once in a while but couldn’t satisfy: tarugos (tamarind balls tolled in red chile), candied yams and calabaza that when cooked just right separates into golden almost crunchy sugared filaments.  If you read my column regularly you know that I do not like to have my whims go unfulfilled.

In this case for me it is a tremendous satisfaction to be able to finally be able to answer the two questions most often posed to me.  Where can I find Mexican corn? Where can I  find huitlacoche retail  I buy mine wholesale  from Glen Burns in Florida but Las Palomas and other Mexican stores carry huitlacoche in jars and it is quite good.