Giant Puffball mushrooms information and pictures
The Giant Puffball is hard to miss!
Giant Puffball
Kingdom: Fungi
Division: Basidiomycota
Class: Agaricomycetes
Order: Agaricales
Family: Lycoperdaceae
Genus: Calvatia
Species: C. gigantean
Binomial name: Calvatia gigantean
Puffballs are edible
When puffballs first appear the flesh is white and very firm (no gills and no stem) You can eat them as long as they are pure white and firm -- if there are brown bits and it is not firm then do not eat it.
The flavor is very bland so many mushroom lovers dismiss them, however because they are bland it can be used in many different dishes. You can give it any flavor you want. You can cut it into chunks, slices or strips and use it in anything from stir frys to casseroles.
If you cannot use all the puffball do not try to save it.
Be careful with the smaller varieties of puffballs making sure the flesh is firm with no stem and no gills.
Beware
In the button stage; field mushrooms, puffballs and Death Caps look very similar.
The pictures below are of the field mushroom (I think )-- You should never ever eat field mushrooms you find unless you are a seasoned expert because if you are wrong and mistake the death cap for a field mushroom it would be your last mistake. Even experts have been known to die when the death cap has gotten mixed into a bunch of field mushrooms.
Puffballs are quite unique. They are white and when they first appear the texture is dense and there is no stem or gills.
Field mushroom
Puffballs do not have gills as seen here
Puffballs do not have stems as seen here
Comments
cool
- Author
Thanks mia.
We have two very large white ball mushrooms in our yard, I'm not sure if they are ok to eat, but would like to send photos of them somewhere to find out. We love mushrooms, but treasure our lives :)
can puffballs kill u.
Jack -- thanks for your comment. No, they won't kill you. They are edible if fresh and the flesh is white
Hi, this is fascinating, the reason why I chose this hub was because I was walking through the fields the other day, well, a few weeks ago now, doesn't time fly? lol and I came across a lot of mushrooms etc, and I had no idea which was which! so this is great thanks, cheers nell
We found in the neighbors l large and 2 small round things that I would call puffballs, very solid and sort of a brownish color. The largest is about 8" across. Are they safe to eat and how do I fix them.
- Author
Thank you for your comments Jill Lyons. Puffballs are safe to eat -- fry them in butter or bacon grease. I am concerned that you say they are brownish in color -- if they are puffballs and brownish in color they are probably too old to eat. Puffballs at white, bright white, not brownish. They are solid all the way through. I cannot advise you to eat them -- I can only say that if they are puffballs and if they are fresh and white all the way through and no bugs in them then you can eat them. I cannot say that what you have is a puffball -- a fresh puff ball is not brownish.
Hello!
Do you know what kind of mushroom you have there, the one with the gills?
- Author
Jeannie, I think it is a field mushroom but I am not sure -- I would never eat one because they look so similar to poison ones -- especially in the button phase.
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