Credits: Social Media
Foragers tips for preparing giant puffball mushrooms as it’s the perfect time to harvest
Giant puffball mushroom season is officially here, and if you want to fill your belly before they are indelible, you need to get out and harvest them soon.
Even with the latest KFC release and the aisles upon aisles of food at the grocery store, filling your belly in 2024 is a costly and often unsatisfactory experience. Gone are the days when we’d venture off into the woods for sustenance, which is probably a good thing when you consider the dangerous plants native to the US.
Giant puffball ends in a few weeks
If you’ve missed the opportunity to go to a pumpkin patch this fall to learn about their complicated history, then the next best thing could be in your local neighborhood. Introducing the giant puffball (Calvatia gigantean), a species of mushroom that is found from late summer to early winter throughout much of the temperate world. The best news? It’s edible.
Foraging, the act of finding your own food out in nature, has received increased attention in recent years thanks to social media apps like TikTok and Instagram. Alexis Nicole (@alexisnikole) is one of the leading voices on TikTok where she regularly shocks fans with the amount of edible plants in their local areas.
Last week, Alexis took to the platform where she shared a helpful preparation video with her 4.5 million followers. She collected too many puffballs to count, bundling them up in her arms as she spotted more in the distance.
“Marry Me Puffball mushroom recipe. It’s giant puffball season, so heres my new fave way to prepare them, and its approved by a self-proclaimed mushroom hater!” she captioned the post.
The first, and most vital step, is to cut all the way through the mushroom to see its insides. If it’s completely white and without “buggy holes” then it’s good to eat. You should then peel off the surrounding skin.
Alexis’ recipe was a sort-of marry-me chicken, with the mushrooms battered to the high heavens before being placed on the sauce component of the meal. To serve, she placed her dish upon crispy gnocchi.
Fans seemed keen to try the mushrooms, with one penning: “I don’t normally like mushrooms, but holy cow this was good.”
“It is my dream to be able to try puffball mushrooms!!!!!!! I WANT THEM!!!!” another said, while a third added, “Im not vegan but I adore mushrooms and I would devour this.”
How nutritional are the giant puffballs?
As per WebMD, giant puffball mushrooms are a solid source of essential and nonessential amino acids like tryptophan, leucine, isoleucine, methionine, valine, threonine, phenylalanine, lysine, and histidine. The fungi are also naturally high in fiber and low in calories and contain good fats and sugars.
From a health standpoint, giant puffball mushrooms are said to have Anticancer, Antidiabetic, and anti-inflammatory effects.
We are now only a week away from November, so there’s no better time to get out there!
