Giant puffballs - Calvatia gigantea
It is late August in Illinois and the puffballs have emerged en
masse. The giant puffballs. Like glowing leathery nerf skulls dotting
the forest floor. Oh boy. In case you are unfamiliar with these fungi,
a number of pictures may be found here.
We've so far neglected to photograph any in the wild. There are many
species of puffball, a sort of round mushroom that develops large
numbers of spores internally and then disintegrates or ruptures to
release them. Many are good to eat. Some have dark spores even when
young and fresh - these are not puffballs, but earthballs, and
should not be eaten. The giant puffball (C. gigantea
and related species depending on location) is not only good, but big -
often a foot or more in diameter, with occasional gianormous specimens.
Of course, the puffballs should only be eaten while young, fresh, and
firm, before the spores mature. They would scarcely be palatable or
even manageable past that point anyhow, as they eventually disintegrate
into dust. While in their edible stage, these puffballs have a mild
flavor and powerful "mushroomy" odor reminiscent of the commercial
white button mushroom (Agaricus bisporus) but stronger. Inside the thin leathery cuticle, the raw texture and appearance is very similar to that of firm tofu.
preparation methods:
diced/steaked and sauteed in butter or oil with garlic and bread crumbs = delicious.
self-explanatory.
Preparing puffball powder:
the puffballs may be sliced, dried, and pulverized to make a mushroomy
powder that may be used alone or in conjunction with other ingredients
(bread crumbs, egg, etc.) to bread or batter the foodstuff of your
choice. For example, imagine pork jagerschnitzels in mushroom sauce
with the cutlets breaded in puffball powder. It may also be added to
soups or whatever else as a sort of mushroom bouillion. here's how we
rendered an approximately 10 inch diameter puffball into about half a
mason jar of mushroom dust.
We sliced up the puffball into "steaks" 1/2 inch thick or less, and
put them on pans in an oven at about 150 degrees Farenheit. For a long
time. Don't make it too hot, or they'll just cook.
Here they are shortly into the process:
This next picture is hours later. They are almost dry:
Once dry, we put the puffball chips in the blender and pulverized
them. Wait for the dust to settle before opening the blender, or else
you shall inhale puffball.
You may also wish to wrap a bandana around your face and pretend that you are a notorious bandito.
At any rate, this is how much we got out of it:
That is all.
-CH