I've had corn smut before but never caught it this early so I'm not sure that is what this is. When I have seen it it's always open and gray powdery, releasing spores already.
Corn smut?
I opened one of the pods, it is filled with stringy fibers and black soot. Here is a look at it.
Try eating it.http://www.halfmoon.org/story/smut.html
Something for everybody I guess, but none of those delacacies sound good to me.