Cook & Eat: The Giant Puffball (Calvatia gigantea)

I hadn't mowed the lawn in my backyard for a couple of weeks. It was starting to get pretty overgrown. But just as I began to get ready for an honest hour of hard work, I was stopped in my tracks with surprise.

Staring at me from the edge of my yard was none other than a giant puffball mushroom (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calvatia_gigantea). I had only read of such beauties but never seen one myself.

After some careful mushroom identification detective work, I was content that I was staring at the much sought after puffball. So I picked it with the intention of eating it.

Disclaimer: Please do your own due diligence! I am sharing my experience without prejudice for entertainment purposes.

Preparation for cooking was pretty simple. First, I carefully carved out any brown or discolored parts of the mushroom. Generally, I had a pretty clean specimen. There wasn't any bug or worm infestation.

Peeling off the outer skin was easy. It came off readily and felt a little like leather. I then sliced a nice 1/2 inch thick section with a very sharp filet knife to avoid crumbling.

Finally, a nice cast iron pan with a dollop of butter on med-high heat made for the perfect cooking surface. After several minutes searing on each side and a few sprinkles of garlic salt and pepper - voila!

Tastes a little like tofu...

With lots of love!

Camera: Samsung A5 phone.

by Free In Thought