Wild Puffball Mushrooms

[Davydd]

I found five of these puffball mushrooms in my woods this afternoon. I picked one and trimmed off the outer skin. What do you suggest I do with it?

[jackal10]

Rejoice in your good fortune, slice with a bread knife into thick sllices and fry the slices in butter...

They won't keep.

[Davydd]

The fact that they don't keep is a dilemma. With five giant ones we could not possibly eat them. I understand you can saute them and then freeze them for later. Can you dry them out with a food dryer and use them as a condiment? The one I picked most likely will be sliced up tonight and fried with onions.

[srhcb]

Rejoice in your good fortune, slice with a bread knife into thick sllices and fry the slices in butter...

That's all we ever did, although bacon fat might work well too!

They won't keep.

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My Brother, who was otherwise a fussy eater, loved them, so that was never much of a problem. They aren't very filling.

[Davydd]

I just fried up the smallest puffball with onions in butter, olive oil, and Emeril's Original Essence seasoning. You are right SB about them not being filling. The whole puffball reduced itself to a small plate full. Will the mushroom kill me? I didn't see any gills when I sliced it open but I imagine the half stick of butter will not help me.

[srhcb]

I just fried up the smallest puffball with onions in butter, olive oil, and Emeril's Original Essence seasoning. You are right SB about them not being filling. The whole puffball reduced itself to a small plate full. Will the mushroom kill me? I didn't see any gills when I sliced it open but I imagine the half stick of butter will not help me. 

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Yeah. They're pretty heavy on the "puff".

SB (put them on a pizza!)

[coquus]

Cook them with boletes or truffles. I like a little marinaire type sauce on them as well, makes the puff more bearable. Sounds like you figured it out already though.

These are giant puffballs, so there really is no mistaking them for other mushrooms that I know of here.

[The Cynical Chef]

A puffball that is pure white all the way through is a choice edible. If it is gray or anything other than white through the middle, it is poisonous. So there.

[Davydd]

Cook them with boletes or truffles.  I like a little marinaire type sauce on them as well, makes the puff more bearable.  Sounds like you figured it out already though. 

These are giant puffballs, so there really is no mistaking them for other mushrooms that I know of here.

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Truffles? YOu are out of my league.

[Davydd]

A puffball that is pure white all the way through is a choice edible.  If it is gray or anything other than white through the middle, it is poisonous.  So there.

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Yep, three hours later and I am still alive.

If there is poison I will kill it with Wild Turkey neat.

[coquus]

A puffball that is pure white all the way through is a choice edible.  If it is gray or anything other than white through the middle, it is poisonous.  So there.

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Yep, three hours later and I am still alive.

If there is poison I will kill it with Wild Turkey neat.

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Dude, you don't have anything to worry about. Cynic is talking about the smaller puffballs (<3"), though I think what he says holds true from my experience here. So there. Choice edible, I think not, easily recogizable, with no poisonous lookalikes, perhaps. It's a gateway wild mushroom, so be careful.

[Torrilin]

These are basically the only fungus that's trivial to ID whether it's safe to eat. If it's white all through, it's safe. If it's not, it's not. The grey (at least the ones I'm used to go grey) spores are toxic.

Emily

[srhcb]

The grey (at least the ones I'm used to go grey) spores are toxic.

Emily

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But they're fun to poof!

[rlibkind]

Mushroom foraging is fun. Eating what you find is dangerous. Unless you have a 100 percent certain ID, don't eat it. Those mushrooms that are toxic are frequently highly toxic, with particularly nasty routes to death.

[Davydd]

Mushroom foraging is fun. Eating what you find is dangerous. Unless you have a 100 percent certain ID, don't eat it. Those mushrooms that are toxic are frequently highly toxic, with particularly nasty routes to death.

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One day later and I am still alive.

[rlibkind]

Mushroom foraging is fun. Eating what you find is dangerous. Unless you have a 100 percent certain ID, don't eat it. Those mushrooms that are toxic are frequently highly toxic, with particularly nasty routes to death.

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One day later and I am still alive.

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Yes, you're still alive. And yes, a puffball is one of the most easily identifiable of fungi. So, you gonna try the next mushroom you see anyway if you aren't 100 percent certain of its identification? Plus, there are a number of mushrooms whose toxic effects don't show up until three or four days later (these are particularly nasty varieties, which usually attack the nervous system with a vengeance), so your being alive the day after you eat it is hardly proof of its safety. These are particularly nasty varieties, which usually attack the nervous system with a vengeance. And even these can taste good. Read the novel Debt to Pleasure.

[Davydd]

I am pretty sure I know my puffballs and morels that also grow in my woods. I've been checking them out for 30 years. There are literally dozens of other mushrooms that grow as well but I don't bother with them safe or not. Just so you don't worry I will check back in about four days.

[rlibkind]

Davydd, the whole point is to make sure others reading this thread understand that fungi identification is not something to be approached casually.

Deciding whether or not a mushroom is safe to eat is not an area where one can accept even slight shades of differences of opinion. The visible properties which mark a "safe" from an "unsafe" mushroom can be exceedingly subtle and nuanced. I'm 99.9 percent sure the fungi you ate is safe. But if I'm only 99.9 percent sure of a mushroom's non-toxicity, then I won't eat it. The one-tenth of one percent chance of being wrong is too high for me, given the stakes.

[Torrilin]

Davydd, the whole point is to make sure others reading this thread understand that fungi identification is not something to be approached casually.

I'd say it's not to be approached at all, but I have a rather intense distaste for the scent and texture of every cooked fungus I've encountered. I can recognize that others disagree with me tho

Deciding whether or not a mushroom is safe to eat is not an area where one can accept even slight shades of differences of opinion. The visible properties which mark a "safe" from an "unsafe" mushroom can be exceedingly subtle and nuanced. I'm 99.9 percent sure the fungi you ate is safe. But if I'm only 99.9 percent sure of a mushroom's non-toxicity, then I won't eat it. The one-tenth of one percent chance of being wrong is too high for me, given the stakes.

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In this *particular* case, it is possible to be certain. Not 99.9% certain, just plain certain. The form, growth habit, and signs of toxicity are readily recognizable even to someone like me who won't eat the bloody things. There are no mimics of this fungus.

Now, with other fungi, it's different. The vast majority of the ones you find on a regular basis are toxic. It can take pretty drastic measures to ID a nontoxic one. There are resources available for learning about fungi tho, and IDing nontoxic ones is a matter of pretty intense concern. So if one is interested in wild foods, fungi are not the worst place to start (well aside from the oh ick factor ). Basically it's a neat way of joining biology and cooking into a hobby. You don't need a biology degree to enjoy fungus-hunting. You *do* need a methodical mind, research skills, a good memory, and some common sense about how to handle IDs you're not sure of.

And to be honest, if you buy wild mushrooms, you are accepting that the mushroom harvesters know what they're doing. And you *are* accepting nuances of opinion. The fact that it's many steps removed from you personally doesn't alter fungi into a well behaved group of easy to identify organisms. And well... very few sorts of mushrooms are cultivated. If you're buying any mushrooms other than the plain white button mushrooms and portobellos, you are quite likely buying wild 'shrooms.

Emily

[sparrowgrass]

Shiitakes and oyster mushrooms are cultivated.

[Davydd]

Pulse OK. No sweating. Stomach feels fine even after a pizza. Day Two and I am still alive.

[coquus]

Now, with other fungi, it's different. The vast majority of the ones you find on a regular basis are toxic.

Emily

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Though I agree with most everything else you said, what is the basis for this statement?

A side note, toxic means lightly poisonous to me. There are three types of mushrooms edible, inedible, and poisonous. Pretty much every wild mushroom you find on the sides of roads, and in cities is toxic to a degree because of the environment. It may not be deadly poisonous but just not good for you. I'm no expert on the chemical constituants of mushies, but I don't pick from areas that aren't at least visibly devoid of trash and other signs of human activity except logging. And this is in the forest. So add this to your prerequisites for mushroom hunters. The list is a long one, if you don't feel comfortable in those shoes, don't wear them, find someone with the credentials and see if they will I.D. for you, or, *hrrmph*, let you go for a hunt with them. Or start going to forays.

Edited September 5, 2006 by coquus (log)

[johnder]

wow, my house upstate has tons of mushrooms all over, especially after this super wet weekend. I have bought numerous books and charts but never felt like I could easily identify anything enough that I would consider eating it.

I am pretty certain that I have some yellow chantrelles around, and some that look like mini shitakes almost. I need to find a mycologist in upstate new york.

There are TONS of puffballs around too, I never thought they were good eating.

[coquus]

wow, my house upstate has tons of mushrooms all over, especially after this super wet weekend.  I have bought numerous books and charts but never felt like I could easily identify anything enough that I would consider eating it.

I am pretty certain that I have some yellow chantrelles around, and some that look like mini shitakes almost.  I need to find a mycologist in upstate new york. 

There are TONS of puffballs around too, I never thought they were good eating.

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NAMA is the place to start, ther is a Hudson Valley Mycological society. Check out Wikipedia, there is a link.

[DRColby]

Make sure puffballs are white inside, meaning they are frsh amd young. They go well if sauted first and then eggs added and scrambled; few herbs help.

I go along with IDing - positive, 100% ID, no guessing - but the worst from must wild mushrooms,other than the deadly and toxic ones, is a bad case of the shits and an upset stomach... Then, there are the mind altering ones like big laughing gompus. The lepeotias are the ones to be careful of in the fall,; they are often falsely IDed as are the deadly ones. Puffballs are genewrally prety harmless in the US.

Dave