Wild Puffball Mushrooms

[Torrilin]

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.

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I'm using toxic in the sense of produces poisonous to humans chemicals as part of it's natural growth. There's no judgement involved about degree. I'd use the same word for lye or methanol, or for a medication taken in such quantity that it poisoned the patient.

Anyway, across most of the US, the common enviroment where you see fungi is lawns and other fairly sunny grass expanses (not because fungi are more common there, but because people spend most of their time in such enviroments). The fungi that typically grow there are not safe for human consumption due to natural toxins, not due to roadside pollution or other factors. If they are safe, they typically mimic the appearance of a toxic variety. Puffballs are the only fungus I'm aware of that is easy to find (it likes lawns and sunny areas) and easy to identify as safe (no mimics, obvious toxicity tests). I'm familiar with around 3-4 other fungi that like lawns and none of them are safe to eat. And given fungi's fondness for mimicry, what I see as 3-4 varieties could be only one species or it could be over a dozen species.

So given the fact that I don't like eating mushrooms in the first place, I haven't researched in enough detail to say more than "most mushrooms are toxic" and "you can learn to ID safe to eat mushrooms". I'll happily leave all the mushrooms to those who like them

Emily

[silentmeow]

Found my first puffer today. Saute'd the slices in butter with some Itaian spices and it was great. Their flavor seems to be subtle, very subtle, in fact not much flavor at all so I spice it up! Thought I would try to parmesan the next one I find.

[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.

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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.

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Day 4. Whew! Still alive. You might realize by now I don't need a holier than thou condescending lecture about mushrooms. I know what a puffball is as I have been picking them out of my woods for nearly 30 years. The picture I posted was of good size not to be mistaken for something else and was firm and fresh. The question was what to do with them.

I have to agree silentmeow, there is not a whole lot of flavor in a puffball. It is slight and subtle and does need some spicing up. I used the onions and some Emeril's Original Essence. I didn't think about the Parmesan cheese. Sounds like a good idea. DrColby's idea with eggs is another good one. Pizza? Anyone tried that?

The window of opportunity is closing. I am going to leave three of them out there to propagate a future crop. I might even go out and punt them once they are ready. The next search will be next spring for the morels that pop up.

[Nancy in Pátzcuaro]

Hello, all--

We collect mushrooms in Colorado, and have found this summer to be the best in at least a decade--lots of rain in the right places. We have finally stopped going out because we have way too much porcini. We dry them--we have 2 dehydrators for this purpose--but we sautee and freeze chanterelles.

Regarding toxicity of mushrooms, there are probably only a few that will outright kill you, and others that will make you wish you had died. Most mushrooms are of unknown edibility, some just plain taste bad, some are edible but who cares, and a few are known as "edible and choice."

However, even an eminently edible mushroom will cause problems for individual people. I have a very good friend who can't eat chanterelles--his throat swells up--which we would all agree is a tragedy. I can't eat shaggy manes (or the entire coprinus family) for the same reason, but in my case I don't think it's so bad since for me this mushroom falls under the "edible but who cares" category.

If you have any questions at all about wild mushrooms, find a group of mycologists who will take you out with them. Mushroom patches are like fishing holes--they won't take you to their best places but they'll at least get you started. Buy a couple of guides and learn how to take spore prints, identify gill patterns and other field marks, and head for the woods. It's great exercise, for one thing, and there's nothing quite like the feeling of driving home with 10 or 20 pounds of fresh boletus edulis (porcini).

And in all cases, if you've never eaten one of these mushrooms before, go slow. The mycologists say to take a bite, chew it up and spit it out. If you don't have any ill effects (numbing or tingling, for instance), next time swallow a small amount. Because people can have problems with edible mushrooms, this is common sense.

It's not rocket science, just simple biology. Mushrooms are among the most amazing things in the woods, and they're not terribly complicated. And even if you get skunked and come home with nothing, you've had a nice outing.

BTW, the reason you should cut into small puffballs is to check for the presence of gills, which means it's an amanita and not to be eaten.

N.

[Nancy in Pátzcuaro]

Just realized I went off on a bit of a tangent instead of answering the question--what to do with giant puffballs. I recommend puffball parmesan.

N.

[coquus]

Hello, all--

We collect mushrooms in Colorado, and have found this summer to be the best in at least a decade--lots of rain in the right places. We have finally stopped going out because we have way too much porcini. We dry them--we have 2 dehydrators for this purpose--but we sautee and freeze chanterelles.

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Too much porcini, I think not, one cannot have too much porcini!

If you have any questions at all about wild mushrooms, find a group of mycologists who will take you out with them. Mushroom patches are like fishing holes--they won't take you to their best places but they'll at least get you started. Buy a couple of guides and learn how to take spore prints, identify gill patterns and other field marks, and head for the woods. It's great exercise, for one thing, and there's nothing quite like the feeling of driving home with 10 or 20 pounds of fresh boletus edulis (porcini).

And in all cases, if you've never eaten one of these mushrooms before, go slow. The mycologists say to take a bite, chew it up and spit it out. If you don't have any ill effects (numbing or tingling, for instance), next time swallow a small amount. Because people can have problems with edible mushrooms, this is common sense.

It's not rocket science, just simple biology. Mushrooms are among the most amazing things in the woods, and they're not terribly complicated. And even if you get skunked and come home with nothing, you've had a nice outing.

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Well, I would like to disagree to a degree. If you are going out during the season looking for easily identifiable "choice" edibles, and who is to say really, within the few geni that don't have death fatal kill mushrooms, then collecting and eating is not rocket science, but if you are trying to identify every single mushroom. . .

[Nancy in Pátzcuaro]

Well, we long ago decided that we didn't need to identify every mushroom in the woods. We concentrate on the edible ones, and only a few of those. This year we found a lot of lactarius deliciosus (a pale orange mushrooms that stains green) but by the time we got them home they were too beat up to mess with. They say that some strains are more "deliciosus" than others and I wanted to find out if our local strain had good flavor. Oh well--maybe next year.

Besides, we were in full Mushroom Greed mode, finding so many boletus edulis that we had no time to look around for much of anything else. When you get home with all those mushrooms you suddenly realize you have a couple more hours to go--cleaning and slicing and laying them in the dehydrator.

I don't mean to scare anybody about collecting mushrooms. There is a moment at the beginning when you think, "I hope this is what I think it is," but it's easily overcome by the wonderful flavors of wild mushrooms. Funghiphobia is common among many people, beginning with the incorrect concept that there's a difference between mushrooms (edible) and toadstools (not).

We separate the stems from the caps when storing porcini. The stems have the same flavor but the texture isn't as fine, so I grind them in a spice grinder and use the powder in soups and stews and polenta and sauces--just a couple of pinches can make a huge difference in flavor.

I used to buy eggs from an elderly Italian woman in our town, who told me that if you cook an onion with the mushrooms and the onion turns black, it's a poisonous mushroom. Not true--but on the other hand she was still alive... She used to concentrate on what she called "Cottonwood Mushrooms," which I took to mean oyster mushrooms, which grow on live wood.

N.

[coquus]

I think I've had that mushroom you were talking about (I don't keep notebooks and whatnot), if so, it doesn't (here) live up to the name as far as i'm concerned, it's rather good though. It's the only Lactarius I have had, I found alot of white ones this year, but had trouble distinguishing the species. I think it's high time that I invest in a microscope and some chemicals, maybe next year.

[Nancy in Pátzcuaro]

You know, I think I'll give up on that mushroom. You're not the first person to say that it was edible but not remarkable. I think if a mushroom has a name like that, it should live up to it at least a little bit. But I guess "deliciosus" depends on who's cooking the mushroom. Perhaps that original mushroom tasted better.

In the spirit of the original discussion, here's my favorite recipe for chanterelles, from a lovely little book, The Mushroom Feast, by Jane Grigson.

Girolles a la forestiere (serves 4)

3 pounds girolles (chanterelles)

4 oz butter

4 oz lean smoked bacon, cut into strips

6 oz new potatoes

parsley, chopped

salt and black pepper

Wash and trim chanterelles, and cook them in a bare ounce of butter for 5 minutes, and drain off the liquid (I save it for later). Fry the bacon rapidly in the remaining butter for a few moments until it begins to brown. Add the chanterelles and leave to simmer for 20 minutes. Meanwhile cook the potatoes and cut them into pieces roughly the size of the mushrooms. Add to the pan of mushrooms and and bacon, add the reserved juices, and stir everything together so that the potatoes color slightly in the juices. This should take about 5 minutes to brown the potatoes and reduce the juices. Season to taste and sprinkle with parsley.

It's rare that one has 3 pounds of chanterelles, but it can be made with less. It's sublime with the full amount, though... And I don't think I've ever used the full amount of butter.

N.

[coquus]

I think the perfect amount of butter/oil is used when the mushrooms have soaked up all they can, but aren't still bathing when finished.

I think four ounces (one stick) should be just about perfect for three pounds of chanterelles. I think maybe more would be needed to saute 3 lbs. or button mushrooms, or porcini. Like you, though, I don't cook like that for myself often, but it's a kinda nice thing to do for the uninitiated. I can't wait to get out into the woods sometime soon, right now I have been too busy painting my house and waiting out the capture of fugitives from justice. I have found some puffballs and agaricus silvestris in some lawn spaces, and they have their merits, but. . .

[Davydd]

Hello. Me again. Still alive.

Another crop came up again this weekend. That's a first for us--two crops in one season. I now know what puffball mushrooms are good for. Mushroom soup! I picked another one about the size of a canteloupe, skinned it, cut it up into cubes, sauteed it in a stick of butter along with a whole chopped red onion, added a 1/4 cup of flour, stirred in 5 cups of chicken broth, and brought it to a boil. Then put it on simmer and added 1 cup of half and half, along with about 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper, 1/4 tsp nutmeg and 1/4 tsp dry mustard. It was good.

There is another one out in the woods. I am thinking about slicing that one up, sauteeing it in olive oil and then freezing it for future pizzas.

[ray goud]

For what it's worth:

The world's deadliest mushrooms kill by attacking and destroying the liver, for which there is no cure other than a transplant. First day one feels a slight tummy upset, if any; death arrives on the second thru fourth day, with no outward signs to help a doctor.

My next-door neighbor used to collect wilds, even on our property; she doesn't anymore because she passed away from liver cancer.

Hope you're still OK,

Ray

[jayt90]

For what it's worth:

The world's deadliest mushrooms kill by attacking and destroying the liver, for which there is no cure other than a transplant. First day one feels a slight tummy upset, if any; death arrives on the second thru fourth day, with no outward signs to help a doctor.

My next-door neighbor used to collect wilds, even on our property; she doesn't anymore because she passed away from liver cancer.

Hope you're still OK,

Ray

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Is there a causal relationship between liver cancer and wild mushrooms, or is this an alarmist warning?

[Davydd]

For what it's worth:

The world's deadliest mushrooms kill by attacking and destroying the liver, for which there is no cure other than a transplant. First day one feels a slight tummy upset, if any; death arrives on the second thru fourth day, with no outward signs to help a doctor.

My next-door neighbor used to collect wilds, even on our property; she doesn't anymore because she passed away from liver cancer.

Hope you're still OK,

Ray

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Sheesh! Another condescending know it all commenter. Do you people cruise around with a black mushroom cloud over your head to naysay comment in every mushrooming thread? Have you read the thread? Do you know anything about mushrooms? I am very familiar with the puffball mushroom with over 24 years experience with them in my woods. I believe I stated that earlier. I guess I knew another naysayer would come out of the woods or I wouldn't have said "Hello. Me again. Still alive." Yeah, my bad.

But I'm happy. I figured out what to do with the puffballs. They are strangely different in taste with a squeeky chewy texture in a traditional use mushroom fixing way. But in soup, superb!

[BekkiM]

For what it's worth, when I was growing up in Vermont, we used to bread and fry giant puffballs--b/c of course deep-frying makes everything taste better! (Not that they end up with a lot of flavor in any case, as you've discovered for yourself.) I didn't realize you could find them in the fall, though, my hazy memories are of eating them in the spring.

25 years later, no liver cancer...

[Davydd]

For what it's worth, when I was growing up in Vermont, we used to bread and fry giant puffballs--b/c of course deep-frying makes everything taste better!    (Not that they end up with a lot of flavor in any case, as you've discovered for yourself.)  I didn't realize you could find them in the fall, though, my hazy memories are of eating them in the spring.

25 years later, no liver cancer...

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Hmmm, good suggestion. Might go well with my deep-fried breaded pork tenderloin sandwiches. The heart will go before the liver.

[Sentiamo]

For what it's worth, when I was growing up in Vermont, we used to bread and fry giant puffballs--b/c of course deep-frying makes everything taste better!    (Not that they end up with a lot of flavor in any case, as you've discovered for yourself.)  I didn't realize you could find them in the fall, though, my hazy memories are of eating them in the spring.

25 years later, no liver cancer...

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Hmmm, good suggestion. Might go well with my deep-fried breaded pork tenderloin sandwiches. The heart will go before the liver.

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Good on you Davydd...I was going to suggest breading thick slices of the puffball ( Calvatia Gigantea if anyone is interested) but do as I learnt from MIL in Italy..add some parm to the breadcumbs with a little garlic and some Italian parsley.

These funghi would sell for around US$30 kg a few years back and you and a few others are quite correct, there are no other funghi about that could cause confusion in identifying Calvatia. Giant being the operative word here and it has to be assumed that anyone planning to eat wild mushies has enough grey matter between the ears to correctly identify or... dont touch!

Also has to be assumed that if upon cutting you are greeted by a greenish flesh you would know the puffball is way past its use by date.

[Darienne]

No question here; just bragging with joyous delight.

Because of the heat wave in eastern North America, and in our case, East Central Ontario, we haven't walked the farm perimeter in five days. This morning we came across a gigantic puff ball in the middle of our path which we are now having fried for lunch.

I don't know if our Australian visitor is going to work up enough courage to eat some or not.

[Darienne]

Just reread the topic. Jump ahead one year and one month. This is a truly puffball rich summer. So much rain. We have found and given away a number of puffballs in the last few days. Beauties all.

Lazy as I am and overwhelmed by other stuff, I decided to just slice and roast the puffball in olive oil and herbs and then freeze it. We fried and froze the one from the last post in 2010.

Not a good idea, the slicing and roasting. As I attempted to fold in the olive oil, I ended up with a bowl of crumbles basically. Here's a before and after roasting photo. Bowl is 5 /34 " X 16 " across...BIG bowl. Soup, egg foo yung, enchilada stuffing (along with meat, peppers and other bits)and it will be gone.

[Mjx]

Been ages since I've had these, but when I was little, my mum used to slice them, and just toss them with a little olive oil, lemon juice, salt, pepper, and herbs (no idea of what they were). Really delicious.