# Puffballs????



## nduetime (Dec 15, 2005)

Can anyone tell me if these are indeed puffballs? I was told they were and that they were edible. Do not have a clue how to cook them, I imagine you would slice them up and cook like any other mushroom? Any help would be appreicated as I will not guinea pig myself or Dh. Thanks. They look like baked potatoes lying on the ground, which is what I was told to look for. :shrug:


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## nduetime (Dec 15, 2005)

bump! please help!


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## mistletoad (Apr 17, 2003)

We never ate puffballs that had gone past the white stage. If those are puffballs (and yes, they do look like them) it is already too late to eat them so leave them to fully mature and then squash them to see if they "puff"
As a side note, king snake eggs look just like young puffballs - DH thought he found a patch, opened one up and a baby snake slithered out! lol


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## nduetime (Dec 15, 2005)

Ewww! That would put me off for a long time. I googled puffbalss and came to the conclusion that they probably were and it was already too late to eat them. I appreciate the confirmation though as I was not going to ever pick them up again without knowing for sure. BTW I do have some out there that are all white. Guess i will dump these and go for those. I did not know that they should be completely white. Guess my friend is lucky they do not get sick! I may put a pic of the others on to make sure. thanks for your help!


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## Bear (Jan 25, 2005)

Those look like a vaerity of puffballs called skull-shaped puffball, measuring anywhere from 3 to 5 inches across with a light brownish, leathery skin. I've picked and eaten many of those up in the mountains of Pennsylvania. Only use those that are firm and pure white inside. Sliced up and sauteed in butter with alittle salt and pepper, and you have some good eating! If you haven't eaten these particular shrooms before, just eat alittle at first and see how it goes. Some people may experience some gastric distress, but it's not common.


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## mistletoad (Apr 17, 2003)

When you get the all white ones, slice it down the center and you will see a spongy looking round part (this needs to be white rather than yellow) with a more solid looking white skin that is thicker at the base - it really does look like a cross section of a human skull. If everything is snowy white, fry them up like bear says, they really are quite nice.


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## nduetime (Dec 15, 2005)

They are all spongy white inside. like firmer marshmellow cream. So I should not toss these?


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## mistletoad (Apr 17, 2003)

Hmm, I'm not sure. We never ate them that way, but the books say "as long as the inside is pure white" so it seems like you could eat them, but I've never done it.


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## nduetime (Dec 15, 2005)

this is what the insides look like. they are all pure white inside.


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## Bear (Jan 25, 2005)

They look okay to me. If there any slight yellowing, they aren't good for eating. Just as long as there're pure white your good to go!


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## MELOC (Sep 26, 2005)

be sure to take moonwolf's advice from another thread and beware of poisonous mushrooms that are in an early stage and have not opened yet. some varieties of amanita (poisonous) grow on top of the ground like an egg or puffball until they stretch up and open. if you cut them open you will see the the shape of the cap and where it is still attached to the stem making it look like a puffball. 

what you have are apparently puffballs. i can see the spongy insides now that you have cut them in half. you should be ok with those.

i have found puffballs to be rather chewy and firm in texture. they would be good for a soup. get the little ones. i have found puffballs the size of a football and they were filled with worms, etc.


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## moonwolf (Sep 20, 2004)

MELOC said:


> be sure to take moonwolf's advice from another thread and beware of poisonous mushrooms that are in an early stage and have not opened yet. some varieties of amanita (poisonous) grow on top of the ground like an egg or puffball until they stretch up and open. if you cut them open you will see the the shape of the cap and where it is still attached to the stem making it look like a puffball.


MELOC is right. 
Here is a comparative photo of a deadly poisionous amanita in the button stage. Looks kind of like a puffball. Know Your mushrooms before you attempt handling them!


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## moonwolf (Sep 20, 2004)

Bear said:


> They look okay to me. If there any slight yellowing, they aren't good for eating. Just as long as there're pure white your good to go!


It's not so much the color. If you notice that photo of the deadly amanita in the button stage, it's white inside. It's not smooth and uniform inside and shows the folds of the future veil and cap. It'll kill you if you eat it. Some of the amanita's and other poisonous mushrooms can leave residue on your hands in small quantities also that if you injest can harm you or kill you with their very powerful toxins, or delayed toxins cause organ damage and all sorts of sequlae. be careful! If in doubt, wear rubber gloves when handling, carry the proper indentification stuff, knife to check inside and especially the Knowledge you need to know about edible and poisionous mushrooms.


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## nduetime (Dec 15, 2005)

Ok, I *think* mine are ok to eat by what you guys have given me, but I am not going to chance it without an experienced person to identify and ok them in person. I just figure it is not worth the risk. Any thoughts on how to find a knowledgable person in my area?


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## Bear (Jan 25, 2005)

Try and find a mushroom club in your area, you can use your search engine and type in "mushroom clubs". Some have a list of all the clubs in North America. I saw one that had four clubs listed for Wisconsin- I believe it was-www.mushroomthejournal.com/startingout/clubstext.htlm. Give the closest club a call and see if they can help you. Most of these people in these clubs are only to willing to help someone!


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## blue gecko (Jun 14, 2006)

If you're close to a college take them to the biology dept and ask around. Someone at the extension office might also be helpful. From what I see your puffballs look fine to eat. Once you get your confidence up you'll be looking for them every fall!


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## suburbanite (Jul 27, 2006)

I just ran over some puffballs with the lawnmower in my front yard. POOF!

:doh:


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## moonwolf (Sep 20, 2004)

suburbanite said:


> I just ran over some puffballs with the lawnmower in my front yard. POOF!
> 
> :doh:


that's probably good! If they 'poofed' up a cloud of spores you'll have many more puffballs to erupt in the future.  Once puffballs get to that stage, they aren't edible anyway.


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## suburbanite (Jul 27, 2006)

Okay moon. It still feels like a stupid thing to do though. kinda messy on the shoes.


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## foxtrapper (Dec 23, 2003)

Look good to me. I love puffballs. Sliced thick and fried.


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## nduetime (Dec 15, 2005)

thanks for all the help. Lol, my Dh asked where the mushrooms I had collected went. I told him we were not eating any until I was 100% sure that they were ok. He just laughed and said that was fine with him. I do have a college extension near me but they are not always the most helpful ( even when I was attending!) I will try the mushroom clubs. Thanks again.


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## Bear (Jan 25, 2005)

If you're inexperienced with mushrooms, joining a mushroom club would be a great way to learn. Around here, in Pennsylvania, there's 2 clubs, they only charge about $12.00 to $15.00 for a year's membership. You can go to meetings and go out on forays where you get hands on experience with seasoned shroomers. There's quite afew shrooms that are easy to identify such as the morels, chicken mushroom, hen of the woods, puffball, oyster, and the popular chanterelle. You're missing out on alot of good eating and some quality time in the great outdoors. This is the time of the year when a host of mushrooms come into their own splendor and also when the clubs do alot of forays!!!


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