Giant Puffball / Summer / Autumn / Edible
Prepare to be amazed by the culinary marvel of the Giant Puffball (Calvatia gigantea) as we embark on a journey to savor its delectable delights.
Join us in celebrating the unique flavors and impressive size of this remarkable mushroom. With its round, white form and soft, spongy texture, the Giant Puffball stands as a true natural wonder.
Learn to identify its distinctive features, discover its preferred habitats, and delve into the culinary treasures it offers. From its mild, delicate taste to its versatile culinary applications, this mushroom has the power to elevate your dishes to extraordinary heights.
Whether you are an adventurous food enthusiast or an experienced chef, let the Giant Puffball inspire your culinary creations and delight your taste buds with its marvelous flavors. Embrace the abundance of nature’s bounty as we celebrate the enchanting delights that lie within the Giant Puffball. Get ready to embark on a flavor-filled journey as we explore the captivating culinary possibilities offered by this extraordinary fungus.
Scientific Name
Calvatia gigantea
Family
Agaricaceae
Also known as
Puffballs
Habitat
Grasslands, pasture, lawns, commons and roadsides. Found in rings, troops or individually. You will also sometimes find these in and around open woodland.
Identifying Features of the Giant Puffball
Description
A large white to off-white fungus with a fine velvet-like surface when young becomes smooth and papery. The inside of the fruiting body will turn into brown mature spores.
Stem:
No visible stem but sometimes has a fine root-like filament that connects it to the ground.
Smell:
Sweet, mushroomy.
Spores
starting white and turning brown then greeny brown
In food
My favourite way to cook them is to cut them into thick slices, coat them with flour, egg and breadcrumbs and deep fry them. The ultimate vegan schnitzel.
You can also slice them across to make a large round base which can be used as a pizza base.
Season
You can find Giant puffballs pop up at a number of different times of year however they’re most often found through the UK Summer.
Known hazards
None known.
Harvesting
We gather these mostly in late summer or autumn.
Potential lookalikes
The only thing this fungus could be confused with would be a football or another member of the puff ball family which is not an issue as all puffballs are edible when they are young.
The earth ball is the only thing to read up on when looking for puffballs – it’s a round mushroom but is more often than not dark in the centre with a marbled effect. However, they can also be white in the centre. The skin is much more tough and firm like pig skin and the skin itself is much thicker, when picked up the earth ball always brings up some mycelium with it.
Top tips
If this mushroom has passed its best eating stage (when it starts to turn brown inside) you can get lots of joy out them still. Simply line one up and pretended you’re kicking an American football and watch the brown powder fly everywhere.