Puffball Mushroom

Photo: Anonymous

About

The giant puffball is a large mushroom that grows wild. It can grow to large sizes bigger than a soccer ball, but is usually around the size of a baseball. Unlike most other groups, puffballs contain their spores inside, so they're somewhat rounded. When mature, any pressure from outside, such as a raindrop or a kick from a child's shoe, ejects the spores in a cloud of dust.

Information

Other names: Giant Puffball

Translations: Puffball Sēņu, Kukurdvelkis Grybavimas, Puffball ciuperci, Gljiva puhara, Nấm Puffball, Purchawka Mushroom, Stuifzwam Mushroom, Puffball मशरूम, Puffball грибов, Puffball Μανιτάρια, البافبول الفطر, Puffball 버섯, Pýchavka houba, Puffball Jamur, Puffball kabute, 普夫博尔蘑菇, Puffball bolets, Pýchavka huba, Puffball di funghi, Puffball פטריות, Röksvamp Mushroom, Пухара гљива, タンポポの綿毛キノコ, Puffball champignons, Puffball setas, Puffball грибів, Kuukunen Mushroom, Гъбата пърхутка

Physical Description

The giant puffball is a whitish, Styrofoam-like globe as small as a softball or as large as a beach ball, with short, root-like mycelial (fungal) fibers connecting it to the ground. The inside of the mature Giant puffballs is greenish brown, whereas the interior of immature puffballs is white. The large white mushrooms are edible when young. Immature puffballs are roughly globular, and white and soft inside, like cream cheese.

Colors: White

Tasting Notes

Flavors: Earthy, rich

Mouthfeel: Earthy

Food complements: Meat dishes

Wine complements: Pinot grigio

Substitutes: Button mushrooms

Selecting and Buying

Seasonality: july, august, september, opctober

Peak: august, september

Choosing: If a puffball has no stalk or "legs," and is pure white, soft, and undifferentiated (no separate parts) inside, then it's in an immature state, and it's a choice edible mushroom. Puffballs beginning to turn yellow inside or are already forming powdery spores are too late to eat. But you may find them again in the same place the following year, when you can collect them when they're younger.

Buying: Not often found for sale, they are usually foraged. May find at a farmer's market or specialty store.

Procuring: Look for giant puffballs on the ground in well-fertilized fields or pastures where the underlying fungus has plenty of underground manure to decompose.

Preparation and Use

This mushroom is a choice edible. Trim away the cuticle (covering) if it's encrusted with dirt, and cut out any bad parts with a paring knife. Try not to wash this mushroom under water, or it will become too soggy to sauté.

Slice the puffball, sauté it, steam it, or simmer it in soups, like other mushrooms. It's also great baked or grilled.

Cleaning: Brush with a vegetable brush or rub with a towel, and do not clean under water.