Puffballs

            Puffballs, most people are reasonably familiar with them and they have had a lot of bad press. Apparently they were not well received by the First Nations Peoples as well. In fact when I was young I hear stories that the mature puffballs releasing their spore could cause blindness.

            Fortunately I was invited to try some puffball steaks sautéed in butter. Once eaten I was  hooked on this delicious morsel. In face it is in second place as my all time favorite mushroom. Most are relatively small and must be picked while they are still immature, white though out the solid flesh. Usually the size is between the size of a golf ball and a tennis ball. Once however I spotted one that was nearly dinner plate size in diameter.

            My mouth was drooling over the thought of rushing home with it and quickly putting it in the frying pan. Unfortunately the inner core had already begun to mature and was slightly yellow in the centre. With heavy heart I set it back down.

            Puffball season is right from the early spring and into the fall. I highly recommend anyone interested in gathering wild mushrooms to get a good mushroom guide book. One afternoon while out with the family and mother-in-law from New Zealand we collected just under 90 different mushrooms. The task of identifying them before they went off was just too great, but it did really spark my interest.

            The picture above was taken just behind our yard, the puffball a little larger than a golf ball. I should have picked it the evening before, but I was hoping to make a nice mushroom omelet.