The image, above, shows a range of pictures of giant puffballmushrooms (Calvatia gigantea), with top, giant puffballs
growing in a field and bottom, sliced giant puffballs for sale on
a grocer's stall..
| Common Name: Giant Puffball |
| Scientific Name: Calvatia gigantea |
| Other Names: |
| Family: Agaricaceae |
| Range: Temperate Europe. Common in Britain |
Physical Characteristics
Calvatia gigantea is a mycorrhizal fungus, growing to 70cm (28 in) in diameter. It is typically associated with grassland and fruits from August to October (but is most commonly found between September and October.
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| Edible Parts: Fruiting Body |
 Spore Print: Brown
|
 Cap: Not Distinct
|
 Hymenium: Glebal
|
| Stipe: None Present |
 Edibility Rating: 3 
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 Known Hazards: Giant puffballs are safe to eat when immature (the flesh will be pure white all the way through). However, when the spores have begun to form they can cause stomach upsets when ingested (at this stage the flesh will begin yellowing before turning brown).
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Welcome to the summary page for FabulousFusionFood's Wild Food guide to Giant Puffball along with all the Giant Puffball containing recipes presented on this site, with 2 recipes in total.
This is a continuation of an entire series of pages that will, I hope, allow my visitors to better navigate this site. As well as displaying recipes by name, country and region of origin I am now planning a whole series of pages where recipes can be located by meal type and main ingredient. This page gives a listing of all the Cornish recipes added to this site.
These recipes, all contain Giant Puffball as a major wild food ingredient.
The giant puffball, Calvatia gigantea (previously Langermannia gigantea) is one of the great mushroom species. It's also one of the easiest to spot, being white and the size of a football! They are found in n grassy fields, hedgerows and wood edges but it's very difficult to predict where they will fruit and unless you know a good spot they are most commonly encountered whilst searching for other species. Typically they range from fist size to football size and they're completely unmistakable. As a result this is often amongst the first mushroom type that the wild forager collects.
To be worthwhile, however, a specimen must be a clean, milky-white colour and largely unblemished, both on the outside and throughout. In a good, fresh specimen, little cleaning is needed. Simply wipe the puffball clean and cut a thickish slice off the base end to check that the inside is white right through. It may surprise you, but giant puffballs lend themselves well to preserving by drying, but you have to be careful in the drying process. The easiest way to store them is to fry them lightly in butter and then freeze.
When immature the giant puffball is completely edible. However, when the spores have begun to form they can cause digestive upsets. An immature giant puffball is pure white all the way through but when the spores form the flesh changes colour, first to yellow and then to brown.
For other edible mushrooms, see the guide to edible mushrooms
[2]. Huxley, A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992
[3]. Tanaka, T. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World.
[4]. Lim T.K. Edible Medicinal And Non-Medicinal Plants, Vols 1–8.
[5]. Thomas, G. S. Perennial Garden Plants
[6]. Milner, E. Trees of Britain and Ireland
[7]. Rose, F. & O'Reilly, C. The Wild Flower Key (Revised Edition) – How to identify wild plants, trees and shrubs in Britain and Ireland
[8]. Streeter, D. & Garrard, I. The Wild Flowers of the British Isles
[9]. Clapham, A.R.; Tutin, T.G. & Moore, D.M. Flora of the British Isles
[10]. Phillips, R. Mushrooms
[10]. Phillips, R. Mushrooms
[11]. Jordan, P. & Wheeler, S. The Complete Book of Mushrooms: An Illustrated Encyclopedia of Edible Mushrooms
[12]. Bunker, F.; Brodie, J.A.; Maggs, C.A. & Bunker, A. Seaweeds of Britain and Ireland.
[13]. Facciola, S. Cornucopia — A Source Book of Edible Plants
This is a continuation of an entire series of pages that will, I hope, allow my visitors to better navigate this site. As well as displaying recipes by name, country and region of origin I am now planning a whole series of pages where recipes can be located by meal type and main ingredient. This page gives a listing of all the Cornish recipes added to this site.
These recipes, all contain Giant Puffball as a major wild food ingredient.
The giant puffball, Calvatia gigantea (previously Langermannia gigantea) is one of the great mushroom species. It's also one of the easiest to spot, being white and the size of a football! They are found in n grassy fields, hedgerows and wood edges but it's very difficult to predict where they will fruit and unless you know a good spot they are most commonly encountered whilst searching for other species. Typically they range from fist size to football size and they're completely unmistakable. As a result this is often amongst the first mushroom type that the wild forager collects.
To be worthwhile, however, a specimen must be a clean, milky-white colour and largely unblemished, both on the outside and throughout. In a good, fresh specimen, little cleaning is needed. Simply wipe the puffball clean and cut a thickish slice off the base end to check that the inside is white right through. It may surprise you, but giant puffballs lend themselves well to preserving by drying, but you have to be careful in the drying process. The easiest way to store them is to fry them lightly in butter and then freeze.
When immature the giant puffball is completely edible. However, when the spores have begun to form they can cause digestive upsets. An immature giant puffball is pure white all the way through but when the spores form the flesh changes colour, first to yellow and then to brown.
For other edible mushrooms, see the guide to edible mushrooms
References:
[1]. David Evans Notes from field observations, tastings and cookery experiments.[2]. Huxley, A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992
[3]. Tanaka, T. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World.
[4]. Lim T.K. Edible Medicinal And Non-Medicinal Plants, Vols 1–8.
[5]. Thomas, G. S. Perennial Garden Plants
[6]. Milner, E. Trees of Britain and Ireland
[7]. Rose, F. & O'Reilly, C. The Wild Flower Key (Revised Edition) – How to identify wild plants, trees and shrubs in Britain and Ireland
[8]. Streeter, D. & Garrard, I. The Wild Flowers of the British Isles
[9]. Clapham, A.R.; Tutin, T.G. & Moore, D.M. Flora of the British Isles
[10]. Phillips, R. Mushrooms
[10]. Phillips, R. Mushrooms
[11]. Jordan, P. & Wheeler, S. The Complete Book of Mushrooms: An Illustrated Encyclopedia of Edible Mushrooms
[12]. Bunker, F.; Brodie, J.A.; Maggs, C.A. & Bunker, A. Seaweeds of Britain and Ireland.
[13]. Facciola, S. Cornucopia — A Source Book of Edible Plants
The alphabetical list of all Giant Puffball recipes on this site follows, (limited to 100 recipes per page). There are 2 recipes in total:
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| Duxelle Origin: France | Puffball Schnitzel Origin: Germany |
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