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Puff Balls.


brianf

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Can anyone give me the basic run down on the do's and don'ts here? For quite a while I've simply avoided the category of mushroom's I have created in my head called the "will probably just taste like button mushroom or some other easily cultivated variety or not as good as this or that" category. However I will take a nice flush of purple laccaria if I find it despite it's ho-hum flavor. They just look cool. Either way.....puff balls.

Which ones can I eat? Purple spore ok? Green spore not ok? I won't take anything as gospel, but this information with help me decide if it's worth persuing.

Some of these bad boys get to near soccer ball size around here. I figure there is some fun to be had in the kitchen. I saw someone on a UK tv show who used one

as an edible stewing pot and that looked tempting.

Worth my time? Any advice?

Signed-

Always Avoiding Brown and White.

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Any good sized puffball that is pure white and firm inside is edible. However, I've never tasted one that has any flavor; and I never bother with them any more, since there are usually plenty of tastier mushrooms around.

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I really like the true giant puffball, Calvatia gigantea. It's flesh is dense and rich. My favorite cooking method is this. Slice the puffball into 1/2 inch thick slices, egg/breadcrumb/fry the slices in olive oil, stack the slices with mozzarella and tomato sauce in between, bake for about 1/2 hour until the cheese melts. Very similar to eggplant parm.

Make certain to eat only puffballs that are pure white inside. The interior should look like cream cheese. Also, be aware that some poisonous Amanitas begin as buttons that are completely covered by a universal veil. In this state the Amanita resembles a puffball. If you vertically section the button the outline of a mushroom is seen.

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Thanks Dave......I don't plan on taking one until it's too giant to confuse. So I want the giant ones that I used to kick after rain storms as a child and get completely covered in pure white foam.

I hear what you're saying vitog, and I have always had a tendency to avoid picking anything that even remotely resembles the flavor that is easily cultivated.........but something like this has to be put to good use. If anyting, it's good "filler" that will increase a meal size......such as an intensenly flavored stew.

And Dave, in the parm recipe, does the mushroom break down into a semi-ricotta crumbliness? I like this idea. Might have to pull two puff balls.

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I think I spotted my puff ball this morning, not big enough yet, but getting there. hopefully it survives a bit longer. I think I'm going to try your parmesean style dish as we have not doing anything in the italian/red sauce forum in a long time for no good reason. might as well be something experimental for us! thanks for the idea dave.

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I know one guy that takes the giant puffballs, slices them and uses them like a pizza crust. He has a special method of prepping them to make it more like pizza crust. It is a good way for type II diabetics to get their pizza fix without effecting their blood sugars.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I just harvested a puffball, soccer ball size. Cut it in thick slices, 1.5 - 2 inches, remove skin, spread olive oil and seasonings and put on the grill. Theyre really tasty and not so mushy this way. Reason for the thicker slices is they tend to shrink on the grill. Also, dont clean with water, itll mush it up.

AA

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