Look what I found walking along the trail in Mr. Neil’s woods…
Oh no, not another edible wild mushroom post! I just realized that as of this post that I have now eaten each of the “foolproof four”–edible wild mushrooms that cannot be mistaken for anything else in North America. Not only that, I have had all four from Mr. Neil’s yard, though I’ve had them from other places, this is the only yard I know of that has had all four at some point and time. I have eaten morels, sulphur shelf, hen of the woods, and now giant puffball–a first. This friendship is finally paying off.
One note: I have read about edible wild mushrooms and I have friends who are knowledgeable in the field of mycology who I can talk to about my finds. Do not try for wild mushrooms based solely on me. Read up on them, talk to your local wild mushroom club and when you personally feel comfortable, go out and find them. A great starter book is Start Mushrooming (by my buddy Stan Tekiela and Karen Shanberg). That book actually talks about the “safe six” but I’m not comfortable in my identification ability with shaggy mane and oyster mushrooms, so I currently stick with the “foolproof four”. Plus, I have some hesitation eating anything “shaggy”.
Okay, so in the grand scheme of giant puffballs, this isn’t the biggest that has ever been found, but I found it the morning Mr. Neil was leaving for a few weeks and he and I have both wanted to try puffball. We always manage to find them well past their edibility date. I decided to grab it and take it back to the house to freeze it so he could eat it when he gets back or maybe even get a bite before he hit the road for the airport. I checked Edible Wild Mushrooms of North America and found that you can either partially cook giant puffball and freeze it or just freeze it raw. I had enough, I thought I would thaw both cooked and raw slices.
I sliced it up and happily only found one millipede on the inside–there could have been much more. It had an overwhelming mushroomy smell. I can think of no other way to describe it, except that smelled like a bouquet of mushrooms.
The texture was very spongy–kind of like a firm marshmallow.
The book warned to be careful cooking the puffball slices, as they can dry out and burn quickly. After I sauteed them a bit, I cut off a piece for Mr. Neil and a piece for myself. It was an interesting taste. It’s not a strong flavor at all–sulphur shelf and hen of the woods both have more personality in their flavor. The texture was surprising soft and wet, almost soggy–not nearly as firm as other wild fungus I’ve eaten. I think this will go well in an egg dish, maybe a summer pasta dish, or even a ratatouille. Unlike sulphur shelf, I would not eat this sauteed alone. It needs some other flavors to enhance it. However, I can see that if I were someone surviving off the land that puffball would be a hearty meal to be happily discovered.
So, after cooking and sampling, I wrapped each slice in wax paper to separate them and put the slices in freezer bags. I did the same with the raw slices (and took a few slices home for Non Birding Bill and myself–although, he’s not nearly as excited as I am over my new found bounty).
Hi Sharon!
Just surfed here from Rootie’s blog, and thought I’d say your blog’s fascinating!
I’ve been birding here in England for the last 18 months, and I love to see pics of your exotic foreign birds…
I also have a rabbit, a Netherland dwarf called Neo.
But mushrooms? Yuk!!
Try puffballs layered into lasagna instead of noodles….yum! I have an exquisite asian salad recipe for hen of the woods. Next time you find them. Check out the Telluride Mushroom Festival to learn about edibles…now that is a good time!
Is there even any nutritional value in a mushroom? Or are they just fluffy goodness?
We used to find puffballs on our property when we were kids, and we would kick them when they were good and dry. POOF!
(Guess we should have taken them home so Mom could fry them up and serve them to us for dinner?)
I’m ribbing you…but hey- Eat mushrooms if it makes your kite fly!
: )
Mushrooms…yuck! I’d probably starve in the woods before eating fungus.
Hi Sharon,
Wow, that is so cool! I had no idea puffballs were edible. Your blog is so educational! Now I’m going to start watching out for them in the woods. Is now the best time to pick them? And I need to find them while they’re still nice and white, right?
birds, bees, mushrooms, and a not-bad author… I think you live in the most awesome “neighborhood” ever.
I think your blogs are so amazing.
The one below with the pictures of the bees and the audio, bzzz,bzzz was super.
I haven’t seen a cd like the one that you described (yet) and will have to search. It would be good to have something like that in the winter when there are few sounds outdoors.
It would be cool if you could do posts with scents, to know what a walnut tree smells like and now one with tastes for the mushrooms.
It does seem like an enchanted place there and hearing about it is like a mini vacation.
Hi Sharon~
Why do you leave oysters off your list? They shouldn’t be confused with any bad guys, so I am wondering what you are concerned about.
After morels, oysters are the best!
“This friendship is finally paying off”
oh really ?
You can have the slices of puffballs for breakfast coated in beaten egg and bread crumbs and then fried.
My guess is that it might also be very nice to subsitute it for eggplants in a recipe for Melanzane alla Parmigiana.
When I was a kid, my mom used to make fried puffballs with butter and syrup – kind of like puffball pancakes. We also would have them with cheese melted over the top, or as part of “puffball Parmesan.” They are really versatile, more so than any mushroom I know of.
WOW–I didn’t know the puffballs were solid. Happy eating!
Gotta love the mushrumps!
Hi Sharon,
My friend Ed and I discovered your blog after we discovered 3 huge puffballs near my house yesterday. We immediately cut the larger one up, grilled it, then used it as a crust for pizza. Since I follow a low carb meal plan, I haven’t been able to eat much pizza. My brother, who is a chef, came over to join us. We had a great time making it and it came out pretty well. I wish I could post some pictures.
can someone post the recipe for the asian dish made with chicken of the woods? I just discovered it today, and am trying to find recipes. Also, how do you go about freezing that?