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Mushrooms

Giant Puffball

• recipes
  • http://www.boogiedadssports.biz/forum/showthread.php?p=783#post783
  • Good recipes: http://food-drink.helium.com/how-to/9995-how-to-use-puffball-mushrooms
    • Puffball soup - if making soup, don't add wine (acid) and don't go beyond a light simmer, or else it might curdle like mine did.
    • puffball steaks
  • sauteed
  • breaded and fried
  • broiled
  • prepare them by cutting only young, white, firm specimens into 3/4 inch thick slices, then into strips about an inch wide. Then I dip them in raw scrambled egg mixed with a little water, afterwards rolling them in bread crumbs
  • freeze some by cooking them and freezing in airtight bags
  • Slice the puffball, sauté it, steam it, or simmer it in soups, like other mushrooms. It's also great baked or grilled. It has a rich, earthy flavor with a texture of marshmallows.
  • Some find the flavor of puffballs bland to mild, while plenty of others (myself included) consider them quite rich. Sliced and simply fried with a little garlic and black pepper, I think puffballs' flavor is wonderful. Mycochefs have a field day with them; Puffball Parmesan is an especially popular recipe.
• preparations
  • The meat of giant puffballs tastes very similar to tofu or melted cheese when cooked.
  • To prepare, remove any brown portions and tough skin, which sometimes peels off easily.
  • Do not soak in anything.
  • do not dehydreate
• cautions
  • Can cause stomach upset if it is not pure white inside
  • Immature gilled species still contained within their universal veil can be look alikes for puffballs.
  • Fresh edible examples of either species will have white or whitish soft flesh all the way through. They must be white all the way through to be edible.
  • Because all mushrooms readily absorb the chemicals commonly used to treat golf courses and lawns, avoid collecting in these areas.